Incarnate
by mygyps17
Summary: Casey and Andrew Kent find a lost little girl. They soon learn she has no family and nowhere to call home, so they take her to their home for their father, superman, to deal with. I wouldn't say this is a sequel to "Bring Her to Me," more of a spinoff.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Smallville, just my many, many, OCs. Lol.

{(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)}

Casey Kent is not in a very good mood. It's supposed to be a special day. Maddie Van horn, well Maddie _Hoch_ now, is having her baby shower here, in the Kent home. And Casey has no problem with that. Really, she doesn't. She loves Maddie like she was her sister. It's just that she's not too thrilled with all the work she has to put into it.

The inside of the house was no problem. She and her older brother, Andrew, zipped from here to there, cleaning the place up spotless in the matter of minutes; but outside is a different story. Though they don't get many visitors, outside is where witnesses can be.

So the two of them have been left to do the yard work while their mother heads out for Metropolis with their youngest sister, Noley; and Lizzy and Jonathan are sent to run _special _errands.

Casey sighs heavily. It's her umpteenth time realizing just how long it's going to take to get the farm in order; and for the hundredth time she wonders why the outside of the house has to be done if the baby shower is taking place_ inside_.

Impatiently, she tucks a few wisps of her long blonde spirals behind her ears and pulls up another stupid weed.

"Hey Case," Andrew calls over just as she's about to start swearing about the unfairness of this arrangement.

"What?"

"I'm gonna go check out the mansion real quick. Wanna come with?"

Casey considers it for a few seconds. The Luthor Mansion caught fire three days ago; burned to the ground actually. No one got hurt though. The owner and their father's boss, Tess Mercer, was away on business at the time.

"Sure," she decides with a shrug of her shoulders. There really isn't anything too exciting about exploring a pile of ashes; but then again, it's got to be better than pulling weeds.

"Cool. On your mark…."

Casey rolls her eyes. He wants to race? She's fourteen years old. He's fifteen. They're not little kids anymore.

She takes off before he can say, "get set," and is standing before the ruins in no time.

Her first thought is that the Luthor mansion hasn't exactly "burned to the ground." The basic structure of the mansion is still intact. Just certain parts have caved in, some windows have been shattered, and the collapsed west wing, where the fire obviously originated, has been grotesquely marred by the flames.

So yeah, the mansion is inhabitable; but by no means has it "burned to the ground."

In fact, it looks kind of… _cool_, the way it is now. Like, maybe years from now it'll be that "haunted" place stupid little kids dare their best friends to spend the night alone in; or that place high-schoolers throw "unauthorized" parties in.

"Hey, you cheated!" Andrew yells at her once he finally catches up.

Casey rolls her eyes. Seriously? She only got a second's worth of a head start, yet she'd been gaping up at the mansion for all of two seconds before he arrived. If they'd had a fair race, she still would've beaten him by a whole second. That's practically a landslide by Kent standards.

"I would've won anyway." Casey says matter-of-factly, because as mentioned before, it _is _a fact.

Andrew shoves Casey playfully. She shoves him back much harder. Then they get into it.

Casey doesn't get to fight too often, not physically anyway, but she likes it. She likes proving she can be just as tough, if not tougher, than other people. The guys especially.

And Andrew loves letting her try. Hey, he's got three sisters and a human mother. He needs at least _one_ of them to be able to take care of herself! Well, he'd prefer they _all _knew how, but that's not gonna happen. Lizzy's…_Lizzy_; all sweet and noble and always turning the other freakin' cheek. Noley, well, Noley's…_Noley_. Seriously, for a kid who bounces around from one thing to the next as quickly as she does, she's not very observant. She's way too naïve; never believing there are bad things, and people, in the world _despite_ the fact that their father is Superman, a renowned hero who deals with bad things, and people, nearly all day. And then there's his mother…and his aunties…and his cousins….and…let's just say that Andrew's all for Casey being tough. That's one less person he has to worry about; so during any of their little "wrestling" matches, he never takes it easy on her. It's good for her. A real bad guy won't hold back if he's going after her. It's Andrew's duty as her older brother to make sure she's prepared to face anything, or anyone, that may come her way.

Of course, he would never _seriously_ hurt her, but it won't hurt Casey too bad if he grabs her by the arm and slings her into the mansion. So… that's exactly what he does.

And not only is he sure that it won't hurt her, but it won't do much damage to the mansion either because he's thrown her into the west wing, the part of the mansion that's been ruined the most by the fire. He doesn't even hear her break anything when she lands.

On second thought, he doesn't hear _anything_. She should've come out by now. Usually, after being tossed, Casey barely gives herself time to touch ground before she's up and charging back at him. So…Why isn't she charging back at him?

Without hesitation, Andrew runs into the mansion, into the west wing where his sister disappeared. He finds her almost immediately, but he doesn't breathe a sigh of relief. He can't. Something's wrong. Casey's just standing there, looking down at the ground. He could call out to her, get her attention, but instinct takes over and he knows he's got to be silent.

He creeps over to his sister silently Then he looks down and sees what his sister is staring at.

It's a kid.

It's hard to tell, but he's certain the kid is a girl. The clothing is all ripped up and dirty, but he's sure it used to be a dress. And the hair; though it's matted and soot ridden, it's pretty long, a girly length.

Abruptly the child opens her eyes, and upon seeing the two strangers staring down at her she takes off. And I mean she _takes off_. If Casey and Andrew weren't half Kryptonian, they wouldn't have seen her go.

They only allow themselves to be taken aback for a second before they give chase.

The girl doesn't get far. In fact, she doesn't even make it past Hobb's Pond before they catch up to her.

Casey gets to the girl first and grabs her by the arm, gently though. The child is fast, like Casey and Andrew, but that doesn't mean she's invulnerable. The girl can very well be human. She could've developed the ability to superspeed by being exposed to Kryptonite. Or maybe it could've been passed down to her from one of her parents, or even a grandparent.

To Casey's surprise, once she's caught, the girl doesn't struggle. Not even a little. Instead, she looks up at Casey with somewhat of a mixture of confusion and curiosity. She's obviously intrigued by the fact that she's found someone else who's got abilities beside herself.

Casey scowls back at the child. It's nothing against her personally. The kid's small; probably around Noley's age, which automatically makes her a nuisance in Casey's book. Because Noley's the biggest nuisance Casey's ever had the misfortune of knowing.

"If I let you go, will you run away again?" Casey asks the child.

The little girl looks her straight in the eyes and says, "Yes."

Casey's eyes widen briefly. She wasn't expecting that. She was expecting one of two scenarios. One, the kid would say no, then try to run again anyway, and then Casey and Andrew would have to chase the stupid squirt down again. Or two, the kid says no and really stays put. Then Casey would have a long conversation with the kid so that she could figure out how to get her back home.

As for the kid actually admitting that she _would_ run away again, well, it's odd but at the same time Casey can respect the honesty. It lets her know not to let go of the kid's arm anytime soon anyway, and that's exactly what she's going to do until they get her home.

"What are we gonna do with her?" Andrew asks.

He's not completely clueless. He knows that when finding a child, you're supposed to turn him, or her, into the police; but that particular option went out the window as soon as the girl displayed her "special" ability. They can't leave her with just _anyone_. Not even the police. Who knows what could happen to her if the wrong people get their hands on her.

"Maybe we should find her parents," Casey responds doubtfully. Call it intuition but Casey has a feeling that this child has no parents; and what's more, she feels like she knows this girl. There's just something so familiar about her, and it's absolutely frustrating for her that she can't figure out what that something is.

Andrew nods his head. It's a good idea. Find the kid's parents and give her back. Easy enough. Andrew squats a little in front of the girl, looking straight into her dirt-streaked face. "Where's your mommy and daddy?" He asks, automatically slipping into his "baby voice."

"I don't have a mommy and daddy." The girl responds immediately. "Will you be my mommy and daddy?"

"Uh…um…well, um"-

"No, we can't be your mommy and daddy," Casey answers impatiently and with a roll of her eyes. Exactly how many times was he gonna say "um" before getting around to answering such a dumb question anyway?

The girl doesn't respond. She doesn't seem to care that Casey's denied her of something she wanted. Maybe she's used to not getting things she wants, Casey thinks to herself.

Then Casey gives herself a mental headshake before she can start feeling sorry for the girl. The kid'll be fine. All she has to do is bring her home and then her father, Superman, can find her parents for her.

Hopefully the little squirt doesn't start to freak out about complete stranger-dangers trying to take her away.

"Hey…um…." This is the part where Casey calls the kid by her name, because calling a child "you" or "kid" to their face is slightly demeaning, but…Casey doesn't _know _the kid's name. So she changes her question from, "What do you say you come with us to our house; just until we figure out a way to get you home," to a much simpler question; "What's your name?"

Andrew raises an eyebrow at her.

Casey mouths "what" and shrugs her shoulders as if she hadn't done anything weird; like her brother is the one acting a bit odd.

Truth is, she knows exactly why she got "the eyebrow." Normally, Casey is certainly not above belittling little children by calling them kid, squirt, monkey, or any other word that isn't actually their names. She just doesn't feellike doing it to _this_ particular child. No, she isn't going soft, but this girl is not like a lot of kids Casey's met; and Casey has been around a bunch of those aggravating little suckers. This girl is way too…passive. The way she didn't struggle when Casey caught her; the way she's not even trying to tug her wrist from Casey's grasp right now; the way she just accepted the fact that Casey and Andrew weren't going to be her "Mommy and Daddy;" I mean, Noley would've gone through at _least _a dozen "why nots" and "how comes" before she shut up and accepted it; and even then, she still wouldn't have _fully_ accepted it.

But because this kid is not giving Casey _any _kind of trouble, the girl can have a little respect from Casey. Not_ much_; but enough to get called by her name rather than any of the not so friendly terms of endearments she's reserved for kids who haven't hit puberty yet.

"I don't have one." The girl answers so solemnly that there's no doubt in Casey's mind that the child is telling the truth as she knows it.

Casey sighs. Great. Just great. The kid has amnesia. This just keeps getting better and better.

"What do people call you then?" Andrew finally speaks up again, and thank God it's to say something other than "uh" and "um." "You have to be called _something_."

"Eighteen." The child answers.

"_What_?" Both Andrew and Casey ask at the same time. Surely they heard wrong; if not that, then the child heard the question wrong.

"What do people call you?" Casey asks again, just to be sure.

"Eighteen." The child repeats tolerantly, using the same tone of patience she'd been using before.

"People call you…eighteen…like the number," Andrew questions. It's unnecessary; he knows that. He's fully aware that he heard the child right; but, he's trying to make _absolutely_ sure he _actually_ heard "eighteen," and not Amy, or Andy, or Annie, or something other than _eighteen_.

"Yes, eighteen. Like the number." The child answers calmly, again in that same patient tone as before. There's absolutely no hint of sarcasm or patronization in her voice whatsoever.

"But…why?" he gapes at her.

Seriously? Casey rolls her eyes. She's not as stumped as her brother is. The reason why a mysterious child with abilities would be called a number rather than a name is very nearly common sense. She's obviously been some form of test subject, or something like that. It's almost as if Andrew's never seen a sci-fi movie in his life.

"Because I'm number eighteen," the girl simply says.

Before Andrew can get another useless word in, Casey cuts in. "Where are the others?"

If this kid is number eighteen, then it stands to reason that there are _at least _seventeen others.

"They're dead."

Andrew visibly shivers, but tries to hide it. Yes, death is bad and sad and there's no shame in shivering at the thought of it; but he didn't shiver because of the mention of death. It was the child's response. She was so casual about it. There was absolutely no hint whatsoever that she'd been affected by the others' deaths.

And maybe she hadn't, Andrew finds himself thinking on the bright side. Maybe those others died before she was even born. If she never knew them, that would explain why their deaths seem to mean so little to her.

"How…How'd they die?" Andrew asks.

The girl turns slightly and points at the ruined mansion. "The fire." She says simply; still there's no sign that she's been affected by the deaths of other people. Her eyes are dry; her voice clear and steady.

"Holy shit." Andrew and Casey whisper together.

There's something going on here, something dangerous. All of Smallville had been informed by the media that no one was hurt during the fire. But that's obviously a lie. There's been a cover-up. And only very powerful people can cover up the death of so many people.

Casey looks down at the child. The girl is silently looking up at her, waiting for whatever's going to happen next. It's _that_ look that starts to make Casey feel a bit protective of the girl. The kid is all alone now, probably hasn't had a good sleep, or much to eat since the fire; a fire that this child somehow survived. Was she_ supposed_ to die in that fire with the others? Does anyone know she's missing? If so, is she still in danger?

"We need to take her home," Casey abruptly tells Andrew while hastily lifting the child into her arms and practically tossing her into her brother's.

Andrew automatically catches the child as a reflex, but under protest. The kid creeps him out a little. Okay, so she's just a little girl, but she's a _weird _little girl. Not weird like his sister Noley, who just _has_ to have syrup and raisins on her hamburgers or she won't eat 'em. No, this is a different kind of weird. Take this very moment for example. After being tossed into Andrew's arm, the child just stays there. She doesn't wrap an arm around Andrew's neck the way most children's instincts get them to do, and she doesn't struggle to get down either. She just…sits there, like a rag doll. He's surprised he doesn't have to hold her head up in order to support her neck. Thank God she does _that_ on her own.

"Why do I have to carry her?" he practically whines.

Casey pulls out her phone. "Because, I'm calling the parents. Dad first."

Andrew doesn't argue anymore after that. He doesn't want to be the one to call the parents. Sure, they very well may have saved a kid's life, but they would've never discovered a life that needs saving had they been doing what they were supposed to do; which was pulling weeds. And there's no way he'll convince them that disobedience could be a good thing at times.

Casey's call to their father is brief, so brief that she barely makes it home before she's hung up with him. He'd been too busy to talk; and judging by his breathing, she knows he was doing some heavy lifting. Maybe a cruise ship, or an airplane, or maybe something even heavier than that.

He told her to keep an eye on the child and he'll call her back in about ten minutes.

Once home, Andrew sets the child down. He does so slowly, wondering if she'll stand on her own or if she'll have to be manually prodded into a standing position.

She stands on her own, much to Andrew relief.

"Don't let go of her!" Casey yells, reminding him that the kid _did _say that if she was let go, she'd run.

Andrew snatches her hand up immediately.

Casey winces a little when he does so. She knows that Andrew didn't hurt her. They deal with humans all the time and know exactly how much pressure is too much; but this child, she's just so small, a wisp of a thing really, and when Andrew grabbed her hand her whole body swayed forward before she could right herself.

Maybe she's just weak from hunger. Who knows when was the last time she'd eaten anything?

"Are you hungry?" Casey asks the kid.

"Gonna make my breakfast, Sis?" Andrew grins.

Casey scowls at Andrew. "I wasn't talking to you!"

Andrew frowns back at Casey. He _knows _she wasn't talking to him. She should've known that too. Casey never makes breakfast, or lunch, or any other meal for _anyone_. It's obvious that she was talking to the child.

He tilts his head to the side a little, studying his sister's face.

That's when he realizes it. Casey Kent is actually _concerned_ about this child!

Andrew breaks out into a full out grin, which Casey ignores.

"Do you want something to eat?" Casey tries again. Making sure she's staring at the kid.

"What do I have to do?" is the girl's immediate response.

Casey only has to think for a second. The kid seriously needs to take a bath before she eats. Casey hadn't noticed the smell before, probably because they'd been outside, but now that they're inside a confined space, the kid is single handedly funking up the whole living room.

"First, you need to take a bath. Then you can eat."

The kid doesn't respond.

"Do you understand what I've just said to you?"

The child nods her head. "Yes, I understand."

Casey squats slightly so that she's eye to eye with the child. Then, adopting the most stern and maternal voice she can find within herself, she says, "Good. I'm going to go make a phone call. Andrew's going to let go of your hand so that he can make you something to eat. You're gonna follow him into the kitchen, but you're not going to touch _anything_, and you're not going to run away. Then you're gonna take a bath. Then you're gonna eat. Do you understand all of that?"

The child nods her head once again. "Yes, I understand."

"Are you going to run away?" Casey asks, just to make sure they understand each other.

"No."

If the kid had been any other kid, Casey would've done more threatening; but since this kid seems to be abnormally honest, she ends their conversation with a simple, "Good girl," and a gentle pat to the kid's head.

Okay, even _before _Andrew started shaking his head at her as he led the kid into the kitchen, Casey was very aware that she just treated the kid like a dog. But in her defense, if the kid had a stupid name, she would've used _it _instead of referring to her as a "good girl."

Those thoughts leave her mind as soon as she dials her mother. No, there really isn't much her mom can do with the kid besides what Casey's doing right now, but still, she's a mother. She'll be able to help Casey out tremendously because Casey isn't so good with little kids; especially weird ones. And this kid is most definitely weird.

Her mom answers on the third ring, probably because she's still driving. Casey really should've thought about that before she called. It's not safe for humans to use the phone while driving.

"No, Casey you can't take a break. It's barely seven o'clock. You haven't even been working for an hour yet." That's how her mother answers her call. Any other day, Casey would've smiled, because any other day that's _exactly_ why she would have been calling her mother.

But today isn't any other day. "Mom, I need you to come home, now."

Casey can hear her mother's tone of voice change drastically as well as immediately. It's not often that Casey admits to needing Chloe Kent. "Is it an emergency? Did you call your father? Of course you called your father. Honey, I'm halfway to metropolis but if you need me to turn around"-

"Never mind," Casey sighs. It's not that big of an emergency. If it's gonna take an hour for her mother to get home, she won't need her. Her father will be home way before then. He'll take care of the kid. "It's nothing important. I can handle it," Casey concludes.

"Are you sure, honey?"

"Yeah, Mom. I'm sure."

"But are you positively sure because I can still"-

"Yeah, Mom. I'm sure."

"But if you truly need me I have Noley. I can be there within a few minutes if I"-

"Mom! I'm fine. I'm sorry I bothered you." Casey says quickly. Jeez! Her mom was willing to piggy back off of Noley? That's more dangerous than crossing an intersection with head phones and a blindfold on!

"Okay, I love you!" Chloe interjects, almost as if she's afraid her daughter's going to hang up before she can get that bit in.

Casey rolls her eyes. "I love you too," she says loud enough so that it's not technically a whisper, but low enough that maybe no one heard her. Of course, she _does_ love her mother, but her mother can be a bit excessive with the lovin'. As a normal American teenager, she's got a "tell your parents you love them no more than twice day" rule that she tries her best to follow. But her mother can use up fifty "I love yous" within the space of two hours.

"Casey!"

Casey jumps. She literally jumps because of the way Andrew's yelled her name. Andrew's not afraid of anything, or anyone; so what the hell could possibly be _that_ alarming for him?

"Casey, I think she's ready for her bath now," Andrew practically squeaks once Casey's entered the kitchen.

She can see that. The kid has taken off all of her clothes and is standing, butt-naked, in the middle of the kitchen. Casey snorts at Andrew's display of immaturity before taking the kid by the hand and leading her up the stairs.

Andrew scowls as he finishes making the girl's sandwich. Maybe he over reacted, but he was just surprised is all. Noley stopped running around the house without clothes on when she was about five. She'd started to get a little shy.

This kid is probably about nine so she should know better, right?

Or maybe she doesn't know any better. Maybe she's not right in the head. He thinks back to how detached she was about the fire and the people who died in it and maybe she's in some form of shock or has some form of Post traumatic issues going on.

That's likely.

He goes upstairs ready to share his thoughts with his sister. He's got his hand up, about to knock on the bathroom door, when it's snatched open.

"I need you to watch her for a second. I'll be right back," Casey orders without preamble. "Do you think you can handle it or are you going to need a blindfold?"

"Where are you going?" Andrew answers seriously, ignoring her little jab at the end.

"The kid needs a name. I'm getting the baby naming book from Maddie." Casey tries to be as nonchalant as she can when she answers her brother. She doesn't want him to see just how much it bothers her that the child is nameless.

She has a feeling that she's not successful, but surprisingly, Andrew doesn't seem to notice. He's preoccupied with other thoughts, troubling thoughts. Casey can tell.

"What's up?"

Andrew scratches the back of his head, a sure sign that he's a bit uneasy. "I was just wondering, can you pick up Dr. Emil on the way? I need him to check her, make sure she okay."

"Okay?"

"Yeah, physically, _mentally…" _he trails….

It takes Casey less than a second to realize it's a good idea. She hadn't given much thought to anything like _that_.

"Yeah, Andrew. I'll pick up the doc," She says. Then she's gone, leaving Andrew all alone with the strange kid.


	2. Chapter 2

**Madlenita: **You're welcome! I hope you think this chapter is interesting as well;)

**CrystalYuriKim: **Lol. Not a lot of people like Casey. Thanks!

**Jeremy Shane: **Thanks!

**The Fallen Sky: **Lol. Yeah, there's no need to forewarn me on your rambling and jumping around. I'm so used to that I'd be confused if you _didn't _do it;)

You know, it's weird. It wasn't too hard to keep Casey and Andrew in character. I guess as long as I remember what makes them tick, I can't go wrong;) But I'm glad you noticed they're more or less the same. Any changes can be attributed to the fact that they're now a year older than they were in "Bring Her to Me.";)

Lex is technically alive, but he's still possessed by Zod…on that other plane that he and Mor-El got sent to. Lol. I forgot you stopped watching Smallville after a certain season. Was it four or five, because canon Lex actually did clone Lana. He's such a freak.

Ah, Casey not telling Chloe about the girl. I actually have that answered in this chapter; but you're definitely not gonna like it. You're gonna think Casey's a brat, but she kinda is, so, oh well…

**DarkfirelightU: **Thank you! I hope you enjoy the rest as well!

**Dizzy78: **Awesome! Just kidding, but thanks! And I can't tell you! It's a secret;)

{(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)}

Casey expects Maddie to be asleep. Well, if she were Maddie. She'd still be asleep. Number one, it's the weekend; and number two, it's seven a.m. and the baby shower doesn't start until 3:00. Not only that, but Maddie doesn't have to prepare a thing. The Kents are providing _everything_. All Maddie needs to do is show up.

But when Casey knocks on Maddie's door, the mother-to-be opens it within seconds.

"What are_ you_ doing up?" Casey nearly scowls. It's not that she's mad. She just doesn't understand why anyone in their right mind would be up this early if they didn't _have_ to be.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Maddie counters, stepping aside to allow Casey access to her home. She's completely unaffected by Casey's lack of manners. She's only known the girl her whole life. That's long enough to get used to her ways.

But Casey doesn't move because she doesn't have the _time_ to go inside. It probably wasn't the best idea to leave the kid with Andrew. She needs to get back as quickly as possible.

"Can I borrow your baby naming book?" She asks.

Maddie frowns. "My baby naming book?"

"You don't still need it, do you?"

Maddie can only shake her head as a response. She's a bit speechless at the moment. Why would Casey need a baby naming book? Unless…

"So, I can borrow it, right?"

Maddie nods, trying her best to take an inconspicuous peek at Casey's tummy. But then Casey crosses her arms over her chest, a sign that she's losing patience.

Maddie sighs and heads for her bedroom.

While Maddie's off fetching the book, Casey pulls her phone out and dials Dr. Emil. It's always best to warn him that he's about to be kidnapped before whisking him away. A dizzy doctor is _always_ better than a _confused_ dizzy doctor.

"You were talking to Emil?" Maddie questions, coming in at the tail end of Casey's brief conversation, but she was still able to gather with whom Casey was talking to.

Dr. Emil is no ordinary doctor. He deals exclusively with metahumans and well, _non_humans. He's even in charge of delivering Maddie's baby and Maddie can't help but to assume he'll be in charge of another soon.

"Yeah, I'm gonna pick him up so he can check something out for me, thanks for the book." Casey turns, nearly disappearing but Maddie grabs on to her arm before she can do so.

"Um, did you talk to your mother?" She asks in a tone that suggests they've just headed into taboo territory.

Casey frowns. "Today?"

Maddie nods her head.

"Yeah." Casey answers slowly, eyebrows dipped slightly. What kind of question is that? She talks to her mother every day. Sometimes too_ many_ times a day.

"Does she know about the uh…_book_. Or that you're picking up Dr. Emil?"

"No."

"Oh, um…when are you gonna tell her about it?"

Casey shrugs. "She'll see soon enough. It's not like I plan on hiding the kid. Andrew and Dad already know."

"They do?" Maddie gasps.

"Yeah," Casey frowns. She's tempted to ask her what's wrong with her but then she remembers, Maddie's pregnant. She's been acting weird for the last couple of months or so. "I gotta go. See ya at three o'clock." Casey announces. Then she zips off before the pregnant woman can stop her again.

When Casey gets to Emil's place, he's waiting with his eyes closed. He's never been a huge fan of superspeed. She smirks before whisking him away to the farm and setting him down in the bathroom.

"Finally!" Andrew exclaims before high-tailing it out of there.

Casey takes a look at the kid. She's in the tub and she's wet, but she's not exactly _clean. _She's just sitting in filthy water.

Andrew must've literally sat there and watched her. Casey rolls her eyes. Her brother could've at least washed the kid's hair.

While Dr. Emil checks the little girl, Casey empties the dirty water and starts more. And by the time the tub is filled again, the doctor is finished with the examination. It's brief, but Casey's not surprised. Just how long does it take to check for bruises and broken bones anyway?

"So?" Casey prompts.

"The child's fine, physically." Dr. Emil announces.

"Mentally?" She asks.

"Mentally as well."

"Are you sure?" Casey frowns, because the kid _is_ pretty weird.

Dr. Emil smiles. "I'm not a child psychologist. She's a bright child. She understands and takes direction very well and she speaks with a clarity that's beyond her years; though she seems to be lacking a bit in the social area. If I had to guess, I'd say she was exposed to one too many scientist from birth, or _creation_," he whispers the last word.

"Yeah, we figure she's a pod baby or something." Casey grins.

"Or something, but other than that, she seems fine." He smiles back before looking down at his watch and frowning at the time. "I have to get going. Um, do you mind?"

"Andrew!" Casey calls

"Yeah?" he yells back.

"The doc needs a ride back."

"Done." He announces, having whisked away Dr. Emil on the word "ride" and coming back in on "back."

"Show off." She mutters.

He grins at her and points toward the kid in the tub. "Aren't you gonna finish that?"

"Aren't you gonna finish pulling the weeds." She fires back.

He sticks his tongue at her. She does it back before shutting the door and facing the nameless girl.

After a quick debate, she decides to start with the kid's hair. It needs the most attention. It's practically ruined; all tangled and filthy. If she's unable to salvage what's there then the kid is in for a haircut.

"Sit down." Casey commands as she approaches the tub.

The child sits immediately. God, why can't Noley be this easy?

"I'm going to wash your hair." Casey explains while leaning the child back so that she can lay her down to rinse out the dirt and soot. That way she can have a better idea of what she's working with.

The child goes down without a fight. Not one protest escapes her lips, nor does she squirm in the least as Casey dips her head back into the water.

Almost immediately the water begins to blacken once again. That's how filthy the kid's hair is.

Casey shakes her head and sighs heavily and lets the water out once more. At this rate they'll get nowhere. The kid needs to be in the shower.

"Stay here, I'll be right back." Casey orders. She doesn't wait for the kid's response. Somehow she knows her command will be adhered to. And when she comes back a few seconds later, wearing her swimsuit and a very tight bun at the top of her head, she sees that she was right to think so. The kid's in the same exact spot.

She steps into the tub with the girl, closes the shower curtain and starts the shower. The child gasps in surprise when the water hits her, but she stays put. Poor kid's probably never taken a shower before. Still…

"Are you alright?" Casey asks.

"It's hot." She answers.

"Shit." Casey mutters while pulling the kid away from the spray of hot water and adjusting the knobs. "You should say something if you're being hurt, like freakin' ow or something!" Casey yells, turning the child away so she can check her back. It's a little red, but thankfully the water wasn't hot enough to burn her.

"Ow?" the girl questions.

"Yes, ow, ouch, owwie. Shit works too." She says the last bit more to herself, but the girl hears her all the same.

"Shit?"

Damn.

"No, don't say shit. It's a bad word."

"Words are bad?"

"Some are." She explains briefly. Then she pushes the child under the spray of water. "Better?"

"Yes."

Casey knows she made the right decision to switch to a shower when most of the dirt and grime from the kid's hair starts pouring down into the drain immediately. This will take no time at all.

She pulls the girl out of the water so she can soap up her hair really well; then she pushes her back in.

"Ow." The child gasps.

"What?" Case panics a little.

"It burns my eyes." She blinks rapidly. "It hurts."

Casey rolls her eyes and rinses the shampoo out of the kid's eyes. "You're supposed to close your eyes." She grunts, frowning at just how bloodshot the girl's eyes are. Didn't her pod parents ever wash her hair?

Casey washes the kid's hair with shampoo twice more, then conditions it once before she's convinced that it's clean. She doesn't have to remind the child once to close her eyes during any of it. She's a fast learner. Thank God.

What's even better is it doesn't seem as though she'll need to cut it either. After being cleaned, conditioned, blow-dried and brushed, Casey can see that it's actually kinda pretty, the girl's hair; dead straight, raven black, and it falls down to the middle of her back.

"Alright, now that that's out of the way," Casey mutters as she wraps the girl in a towel and takes her into her bedroom. Well, the room she shares with her two sisters. "Let's see if we can find something for you to wear."

It's Casey's first time going through Noley's drawers, and not because she respects the little twerp's privacy either. It's just way too…._colorful_ in there. Nothing matches anything. _Nothing_.

Eventually Casey quits trying and just gives the kid one of her t-shirts and a pair of Noley's underwear. She gives her a pair of Noley's jeans too, but the kid starts squirming and tugging on the fabric wrapped around her thighs. She's possibly only ever worn dresses her whole life. In that respect, the jeans probably are a bit constricting. So Casey takes them off for her. Her t-shirt is long enough to cover the child up anyway.

Casey sits the child down at the desk and gives her a notebook and a pencil.

"Can you read and write?" She asks the girl.

"Yes."

"Here." Casey thrusts the book in her hand. "I'm not going to call you Eighteen. It's not a name. So you're going to pick a name out of this book. Write all the ones you like down on this piece of paper. When you're done we'll pick your two favorites. You can use one for your first name and the other for your middle name. You got all of that?"

"Two?" the child questions simply.

"Yeah, two. Why do you ask?" Casey folds her arms. She knew that blind obedience crap wasn't gonna last long.

"Can I have three? Andrew said he has three names. Do you have three names as well?"

Okay, so that's not that bad of a question; not really any defiance either. Just mild curiosity. Casey can deal with that. "Yes." She answers. "I have three names too."

"What are they?"

"Kristin, Clark, and Kent." She grunts. Nobody calls her Kristin though. It's Casey. the initials of her first and middle names are K.C. and they kinda morphed into "Casey" over the years.

"Andrew's names are Andrew, Blake, and Kent." The child frowns. "Why do you have the same name?"

"You mean our last name, Kent?"

"Yes, Kent." The girl nods.

Surprisingly, the million questions aren't bothering Casey. What's irritating her is how little this child knows. She's too old to not know this stuff and it makes Casey want to find the kid's pod parents and slap them.

But she can't, so she answers the kid's question instead.

"Kent is our family name. My mother, father and my sisters and brothers. We all have the same last name."

"Why?"

"It means we belong to each other." Casey shrugs. That's the best she can come up with.

"Who do I belong to?"

It should be easy _not_ to feel sorry for the kid. _She_ doesn't seem sad. There are no tears, no looking down at her feet forlornly, just curiosity. But for some reason, that seems to make it worse.

This kid belongs to no one, and she doesn't even understand how alone she is.

"Let's work on getting your first and middle names first;" Casey sighs. "Then we'll work on your last one later, okay?"

The child nods her head and starts looking through the book.

"Casey!" Andrew shouts. Casey rolls her eyes. He probably wants help with the yard work. Not that she can blame him. They _are _supposed to be doing it together.

With a command for the child to stay put as she finds the names she likes, Casey goes downstairs, ready to help Andrew finish the yard work and prepared to keep an ear out for the kid; but she runs into her sister, Lizzy.

"What are you doing home?" Casey frowns.

"Mama wants you." Lizzy answers, holding her phone out for her younger sister to take.

Casey rolls her eyes, realizing Andrew had been trying to warn her; not complaining about how unfair it is for him to be doing chores while she babysits the most obedient child on the face of the planet. If Lizzy's here offering her phone, it means her mother had been calling _her _phone and she didn't pick up.

Her mother hates it when she can't get into contact with one of her children, and Casey knows she's about to get an ear full.

"Hello?" she answers.

"Casey! Why haven't you been answering your phone?"

"It's on silent."

"Why?"

Casey shrugs her shoulders. Not that Chloe could see it. And it's not like her mother waits for a response either.

"Well, are you okay? I just got off the phone with Maddie…"

"What?" Casey mouths at Lizzy easily toning out her mother. Her sister's staring at her a little too hard. If she didn't know any better she'd say she was being x-rayed.

"Casey!" Chloe shouts.

"I'm listening." She lies. She hasn't heard a word after her mother said something about getting off the phone with Maddie.

"Are you in some kind of trouble?"

"You tell me. Exactly how much trouble is leaving my chores undone worth?"

"What?"

Casey frowns down at her sister's phone. She spoke plain English. What does her mother mean by "what?"

"Maddie said you borrowed her baby naming book…" her mother trails.

Oh, Casey gets it now. Her mother thinks she's in _that _kind of trouble. That she's pregnant. As if she would be stupid enough. "I did borrow her book." Casey answers. But she doesn't offer any more than that even though she knows what her mother's asking; what she wants to hear.

"Why?"

"Because I needed it."

"For what."

"To name a kid.

"What. Kid. Casey!?"

"The kid upstairs." Casey relents, having been difficult enough for the day.

Her mother's sigh of relief could be heard from miles away _without_ super-hearing. "Casey, how many times do I have to tell you and Andrew not to bring animals in the house?"

"But"-

"No buts. I don't care if it's a kryptonite infected goat that can shoot fifty liters of milk from its eyes. Get it out of the house."

"Here! You do it." Casey yells, thrusting the phone back at my sister.

Lizzy blinks at her.

"Go get the kid and bring it downstairs. Mom wants it out of the house!" she yells.

"Don't be upset Casey, it's not like this is a new rule." Lizzy frowns.

Casey only glares back. Okay, so maybe she's brought a few animals in the house. She's not a people person, but animals… She can deal with them just fine. They're way less annoying. Sometimes she can't help but to bring in the ones that are newborn, or stray, or injured. But it's not like she intends for them to stay in the house indefinitely. Just for a little bit.

Lizzy rolls her eyes at her sister's stubbornness before going upstairs.

When she opens her bedroom door, she expects to see a baby goat napping on Casey's bed. Instead, she sees a child, a _human _child, sitting at the desk.

The child stiffens slightly then turns around. Locking eyes with Lizzy. And Lizzy's gut twists. The kid looks awfully familiar. It's the eyes. The shape of them; and that hazel color. From far away, they look brown; but close up, you can see the mixture of green and gold in there.

"Mama." Lizzy whispers into her phone.

"Yeah."

"The um…the kid, she's a human kid."

"_Human_?"

"Yeah."

"Stay there with her. I'll be home as soon as I finish my errands."

"Okay."

Lizzy hangs up and approaches the child slowly. "Hello." She says "What's your name?"

"I'm finding one." the little girl answers, tilting her head to the side slightly and regarding the new person who's just come into her life.

"Finding one?" Lizzy asks as she gets even closer to the child.

"Kristin said I have to write the ones I like down. Then I can pick the two I like the most."

Lizzy frowns. No one calls Casey Kristin.

Unable to contain herself any longer, the child reaches her hand out slowly, grabbing on to a lock of Lizzy's hair. "It's like fire" she whispers in awe.

"So, whatcha got so far?" Lizzy asks, attempting to change the subject. She's always gotten embarrassed over the praise she gets for her wild red hair, but getting it from such a small child is a bit weird.

The child doesn't answer, so Lizzy peers over the little girl's shoulder to see for herself. There's only one name down on the paper so far and it makes her frown. Not because there's only one name there, but because it starts with the letter E. The child is supposed to be picking the names she likes the most. And since baby naming books are in alphabetical order, one would think there would be a few more names down. Some beginning with the letters A, B, C, and D, right?

Maybe not, Lizzy changes her mind quickly. Maybe the child is picky. There's nothing wrong with that. In fact, it seems to make sense as Lizzy takes the time to admire the child's handwriting. It's extremely neat for a girl her age. Surprisingly, Noley's got pretty decent penmanship too. She just over does it with the loops and swirls. But this child's handwriting is elegant, and more than that, it's very precise, controlled. It's then that Lizzy takes another look at the name the child chose and she smiles. "Elizabeth? That's my middle name."

"What are all your names?"

"Moira Elizabeth Kent." Lizzy frowns. Not only is that an odd way to ask for someone's whole name, but her middle name. Elizabeth. She was given the same middle name as her mother's best friend, Lana. That's who the child looks like! The lack of red hair threw her off for a bit, but there's no denying it. Despite the raven black hair, the child is a dead ringer for Lana. Or the Lana she knew; who actually had been her Kryptonian great aunt possessing Lana's body….it's a long story.

Lizzy'd spent so much time with her disguised aunt that she can't believe she didn't recognize her sooner; but then again, it was the red hair, or lack of, that threw her off for a moment. Her aunt must've been dying her hair red that whole time, because the black her suits the child much better, looks more natural. And that makes sense, her aunt dying her hair red. She_ was_ a redhead before she began possessing Lana's body after all. Maybe she kept it dyed so that at least one of her features would resemble her old self.

"You belong with Kristin and Andrew." The child states as a fact unknowingly interrupting Lizzy's thoughts, then goes back to finding names in the book.

Still Lizzy answers, albeit a bit absentmindedly. "They're my siblings, yes."

The child doesn't reply. It seems to Lizzy she's not going to, that she's done talking to her. It's just as well, she's got to go downstairs, call her mother. Now.

"Okay, well I'm gonna leave you to that." Lizzy pats the child on the head gently and goes downstairs.

"Why didn't you bring the kid with you?" Casey taunts as soon as she sets her sights on her sister.

"You could've told me she was human." Lizzy sighs.

"You're the know-it-all." Casey retorts.

Lizzy bites her lip. No she's not. If she _was _a know it all, she'd know why that child upstairs looks so much like her aunt had.

Casey frowns at her sister, wondering what's going on in her mind, and Lizzy immediately answers Casey's unasked question. "She looks just like Morgan."

Casey gasps. "I knew she looked familiar," she agrees immediately. "The black hair threw me off."

"Me too." Lizzy sighs, pulling out her phone.

Casey grabs her arm. "Don't tell Mom."

"Why not?"

"Not yet, just wait, Okay?"

Lizzy narrows her eyes suspiciously. "What are you gonna do?"

"Nothing."

And she's not going to do anything crazy. She just wants to wait for her father to come home first. There's this weird feeling Casey's been getting ever since the child first told her that the others died in the fire, and it's that the kid has nowhere else to go. Nowhere _safe. _And Casey's the type to bring in stray animals, always has been.

Her mother is always the first to tell her she can't keep it, whereas her father usually fights to let her enjoy the animal's company for a few days. And though Casey realizes the kid isn't an animal, she's also not like any other kid she's encountered either. She's _extremely_ easy to deal with. Casey wouldn't mind her sticking around for a little while, and since it's always her father that wants to let her keep her stray pets, even though the kid isn't technically a pet, it's her father that she wants to see the kid first. Not her mother. She'll probably try to send her off with a good foster family, probably Bart because the kid's fast and he's really good with kids.

"Then why-" Lizzy starts off, but Casey cuts her sister off with a simple, "Please."

Lizzy relents, going back out to finish her errands. Casey never asks her for anything. She guesses it won't harm anyone to wait to tell her mother how much the child resembles Lana Lang.

{(O)(O)(O)}

It's nearly two hours before Chloe walks through the door.

Clark hasn't been in once; it's a busy day today. A major earthquake in California and a few bombing's in the Middle East, just to name a few.

Casey understands that those lives are more important than that of a child who's completely safe in her care, but she still can't help wishing her father had come home before her mother.

"Kristin." The kid calls before Chloe can greet, or scold, her daughter.

Casey runs up the stairs.

Chloe frowns at her daughter's retreating back. No one calls her Kristin. She hates that name. She was told that Andrew and Casey found the child in the rubble of the Luthor Mansion. She can't imagine Casey would've introduced herself as Kristin to the child, but she must've. How else would the child have known that name?

"Mom, I'm getting a snack," Noley says. Chloe doubts she's hungry. She just ate, but Chloe nods her consent anyway and follows Casey up the stairs.

Once Casey's in her room, it's more than obvious the child is waiting for her. "Are you done?" she asks, coming to stand beside the child.

The kid nods her head. "Yes. I found the ones I like."

"Well, lemme see." Casey says while taking the piece of paper from the child's hands. Then she frowns. There are only four names on the piece of paper. Elizabeth, Isobel, Lana, and Margaret.

Casey takes a deep breath. Lana Elizabeth Lang; that was the full name of her parents' deceased friend. And that's who the child resembles. She doubts it's a coincidence that the child likes those two names. She hopes the other two, Isobel and Margaret, hold very little significance. But she's not gonna hold her breath.

"Casey I"- Chloe's opened the door to her daughters' bedroom and is about to demand a moment alone with her when she sets eyes on the child and she forgets what she wanted to talk to Casey about. "Lana." She whispers.

"That's one of the names on the list." Casey says, handing her mother the piece of paper.

Chloe blinks demanding her eyes to bring everything else back into focus. Then she frowns. The List? "What list?" she asks, she's till in a bit of a shock, because her voice barely registers higher than a whisper.

Casey points to the piece of paper in her hand. "She doesn't have a name, so I told her to write down the ones she likes. Those are the ones she likes."

As Chloe looks over the list her eyes widen. Unlike Casey, she understands the significance of Isobel and Margaret. Margaret Isobel Thoreaux was an ancestor of Lana's. She went by her middle name, Isobel; and she was a witch who was burned at the stake centuries ago.

Clark got the pleasure of meeting her their senior year of high school, when Isobel had been possessing Lana. And Chloe and Lois had the pleasure of being possessed by Isobel's friends. She doesn't remember their names, or anything that happened that night in fact, but she does know that it had been her eighteenth birthday.

"Which two do you like the best?" Casey asks the child.

She doesn't think for long before she says, "Lana and Isobel."

Chloe's heart skips a beat. She would've felt much better if the child had said Margaret and Elizabeth.

"Okay, and if you had to be called one all the time," Casey continues. "Which one would it be? Which one do you want to answer to?

_Which one will it be little girl. Do you want to be constantly called by my good friend's name, or by her evil witch of an ancestor's? _Chloe thinks to herself.

"Isobel." The child says, and Chloe's heart sinks a little.

But Casey keeps going.

"Isobel Lana. Nice. Now all you need is a last name and you're all set."

"Kent." Chloe says before she can even think it through. All she knows is that if this little girl asks for her last name to either be Lang or Thoreaux, she'll pass out.

"Really?" Casey grins and actually hugs her mother. There's no way the kid's _not_ staying now. If her mother's on board, then her father will be too.

Chloe nods her head slowly, mechanically. She didn't ask, but she can easily put two and two together. The child doesn't look like Lana in a way that she could be an offspring. She looks like Lana as in an exact replica. Meaning, this child belongs to no one. Was probably made in a lab somewhere, maybe even in the Luthor mansion since that's where she was found.

It won't be kidnapping to keep her. There's no doubt in her mind that there are no records of this child's existence.

"So I belong to you?" The child asks, taking a step toward Chloe. "You will be my Maman?"

Maman? Isn't that French for mother?

Wasn't Isobel from a small village in France?

_Oh Chloe, what have you gotten yourself into now?_


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: **guys, I'm so sorry about how late this chapter is, but I'm also super excited. I moved into my very first apartment a few months ago! It's awesome! The only drawback was I wasn't able to afford internet until now. I've been so lost without it, but still excited over having my own space. That probably makes no sense to you guys but, you know I'm weird. Lol. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter!

**The Fallen Sky: **Thanks! What a review, huh? ;) Lol. Anyway, to answer your question, no; Casey hasn't had a cycle yet. She's got about two more years to go, but I don't think the Kents are aware of the timeframe thing yet; and they probably won't be for this story 'cause it has no relevance. In "Bring her To Me," I only mentioned it because I needed a reason for Zod to keep his pecker in his pants while holding Lizzy hostage. So yeah, I had that planned from the get-go. Lol.

And thank you for noticing the significant difference in Casey when she's with the child. It's a part of her development. While she may have learned not to hate her sister and her mother in the last story, I feel she's still got other lessons to learn. So in this story I gave her a project of sorts. The little girl is so incredibly undeveloped that it's like Casey has to start from scratch to sort of mold her. That's a big responsibility and I have a feeling Casey likes challenges. But don't worry, EVERYONE is gonna be in this story, and everyone will play a key role in the child's development. And trust me; the poor kid's got a lot of developing to do. You'll see…

**Jeremy Shane: **Thanks!

**Dizzy78: **Lol, she surely is.

**CrystalYuriKim: **Lol. Thanks for the review. And I'll see what I can do as far as Clark and his overprotectiveness;)

**Guest: **Yeah, you totally got it right And don't worry, I'm not gonna judge you on which Kent is your favorite. I'm just happy you like any of them at all!

**HarmonyPotter: **Thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed the stories. And yeah, six kids….OMG.

**Thorber Stone: **OMG! That was a long ass review! Are you by any chance related to **The Fallen Sky**? Anyway, you gave me a lot to think about. And can I say when you activated your fangirl mode I nearly died laughing. Thank you for that!

{(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)}

"Holy shit."

It's the first thing that comes out of Lois Lane's mouth when she sees the little girl. Why she's so stunned is a mystery in itself. It's not like she didn't have any kind of heads up.

When Chloe called to tell her that she needed her husband, Oliver Queen, to come up with some falsified papers, Lois wasn't the least bit surprised. People need new names and identities all the time in their line of work.

But when she was told that the new name would be Isobel Lana Kent, and that the year of birth was to be set at a mere nine years ago, well, there was just no way Lois wasn't getting a detailed explanation. And _soon_. She arrived just minutes later thanks to her nephew, Andrew; one of the five things Smallville has done right in her opinion. That's an inside joke by the way. As Smallville happens to be Superman, he's indisputably done about a million things right in his lifetime.

Lois looks from the child to her niece, Casey, who hasn't left the kid's side yet. Then she looks to her right, where her cousin is standing right beside her.

"Holy shit." She repeats.

"Kristin said shit is a bad word." The kid says. Her voice is soft, but what's surprising is that it isn't timid in the least. It's very _commanding_, full of conviction even.

Lois narrows her eyes at her. Apparently the snot nosed brat is going to be just as annoying as Lana was as well.

"Casey…" Chloe warns.

"What?" her daughter scowls at her defensively. She already knows what's coming.

"How'd she know that's a bad word?"

Casey shrugs. "She doesn't know anything. I was just giving her a guide."

"Oh, you were just giving her a guide, huh?"

Casey shrugs again, trying her best to be nonchalant. It wouldn't have worked, it never does, but she's temporarily let off the hook when her mother's cell goes off. Hopefully, it'll be a long conversation; one so long that she forgets what she's done. And what better way to make sure her mom forgets her than to get out of her sight?

She makes to go past her mother and up the stairs, but Chloe tugs on her sleeve just as she passes. "We'll _talk _when I'm finished speaking with your father."

Casey groans. So much for that idea.

Then she doubles back and snatches the little girl's hand up. "Come on, Isobel."

"Leave her." Chloe commands distractedly.

"Why?" Casey counters.

Chloe's eyes widen just a little, and not just because she's not a big fan of being questioned by her children. She didn't miss the slight look of panic that flitted across her daughter's face when she was told to leave the girl. Or maybe she just imagined it. That's more than likely. More than likely Casey's just giving her a hard time as she so often does.

"Leave her." Chloe commands again, more firmly this time.

"Fine." Casey relents before sitting on the floor and crossing her arms over her chest.

Chloe's eyes widen a little more. So she hadn't imagined it. Casey's refusing to leave the child alone. But why? It's one thing for her to ask to keep the child, but this…This is different. Casey's never enjoyed the company of small children. She either rude to them, civil with them, and tolerant of them; but she's never been like_ this_ with one.

"Sit here." Casey commands to Isobel, patting the spot next to here; and the child sits next to her immediately.

Both Chloe and Lois just stare at Casey, eyebrows raised and jaws sitting neatly on the ground. They stare so long that it makes her uncomfortable.

"What?" she snaps at them. Then to her mother she says, "Aren't you still on the phone with Dad?"

Chloe blinks a few times, realizing Casey's right. She _is_ on the phone with her husband, and it's not like he's got a lot of time to chit chat; so she shouldn't be wasting what little time he _does _have.

She leaves the living room, wanting to talk to Clark privately.

Casey knows that's what this means. She and her siblings all have superhearing, so there have been rules set up to ensure privacy. If someone steps out of the room while on the phone, or even while talking to someone face to face, with someone, that means the person doesn't want to be overheard. That means don't use superhearing _to _eavesdrop.

But Casey can't help herself. She listens in on her parents anyway.

"_Did you find anything yet?"_

That was her mother.

"_No. Not much yet."_

And that was her father.

There's a fairly long pause before her father speaks again.

"_She looks just like her?"_

"_Yes, clone-like."_

"_And she picked those names herself?"_

"_That's what Casey said."_

"_No help? None whatsoever?"_

"_That's what Casey said." _She repeats.

"_Chloe, we can't keep her."_

"_Clark"-_

"_She could be dangerous."_

Casey raises her eyebrows in shock and alarm. Her dad doesn't want to keep Isobel? He's claiming she _could_ be dangerous? That's not what she expected to hear from her father. That's not the attitude she expects from Superman.

"_Lana wasn't dangerous, Clark."_ Her mother tries.

"_But Isobel was, Chloe. She was a very dangerous witch. She could hurt me, take away my powers. We don't know what this child is capable of."_

"_That's exactly the attitude your parents could've had when they found you in that cornfield, or when you started developing new abilities. But they loved you. And they raised you to be good, to have morals and integrity. We could do the same for this little girl. We could teach her to be good, Clark."_

"_But I was an only child. We have five children to think about, Chloe. Five children we could be putting in harm's way if we keep this child. Are you willing to risk that?"_

"Eavesdropping is rude, you know."

Casey blinks a few times and focuses on her aunt who's just squatted down in front of her.

Lois gives Casey a knowing smirk, to which Casey replies with a simple shrug. "Says the reporter. Isn't that like a synonym for eavesdropper?"

Lois chuckles and shakes her head. Not only is Casey practically a younger version of Chloe, but she can be just as snippy.

"It's not the same thing."

Casey scoffs. It is _too _the same thing.

"And besides," Lois continues while looking directly at Isobel. "I don't need to eaves drop in order to know what's being said up there."

Casey looks at Isobel too. Maybe her aunt's right. Maybe her dad wouldn't have wanted Isobel around anyway. She looks just like Lana, his first girlfriend. That would be kind of weird for him. But it's not like it's the kid's fault. She can't help the way she looks. And the fact that she might be a bit dangerous, well, that's not her fault either. Casey and her brothers and sisters can be dangerous too, but they know how to control themselves. They were taught.

That's all Isobel needs. Is for someone to teach her. Casey believes she can do that; but first, she needs to get the little girl cleaned up a bit more. Her father hasn't seen the child yet and first impressions are important.

As soon as her mother comes back down the stairs, Casey rushes up to her.

"Mom, can I take Isobel to the mall?"

Chloe frowns. It seems Casey's forgotten she's in a bit of trouble for using fowl language around the little girl.

"Mom?" Casey prompts when she doesn't get an immediate answer.

"Why do you want to take the child to the mall?" Chloe asks suspiciously.

"Isobel." Casey corrects forcefully. "Her name's Isobel, not "_the child_.""

Chloe sighs deeply. She hates the way Casey talks to her, but even more than that, she hates that Casey's right. Calling the little girl 'that child' is not only rude, but it's distancing language. It's much easier to not become attached to a child with no name.

And if she's going to argue to keep the child, _Isobel_,then it only makes sense for her to _try _getting attached to her. Something it seems Casey's already done.

"Fine, why do you need to take Isobel to the mall?" Chloe sighs.

"Because she doesn't have anything to wear to the baby shower." Casey answers simply.

Chloe rolls her eyes at the obviousness of the solution to Isobel's lack of clothing problem. "Just give her a pair of Noley's shorts and"-

"But she doesn't like jeans or shorts." Casey cuts in. "They're uncomfortable for her. She only likes skirts and dresses."

Chloe blinks at her.

"What?" Casey frowns.

"Honey I don't think…We don't really have the money to buy a full wardrobe for th-_Isobel_ when she can wear some of Noley's clothes."

Casey bites her lip. It's a good argument. Money's always been a little tight. Well, not too tight. There's always enough to get what's needed, but nothing for excess stuff. Even with her godfather being Oliver Queen, she hasn't had too much extra. Her parents don't want her to be spoiled and she understands that to a certain degree. She's met a few spoiled brats and she'd rather cut off her own leg than to act like one of those prissy bitches. But at the same time, it's not like she's asking for a new car here…

"I'll use my money." She decides after just a few seconds. "Just to get her some skirts. She can wear some of Noley's t-shirts with them." Casey smiles at her mother pleadingly.

She really doesn't want Isobel to have to suffer with any of Noley's gear but that's the best she can do for now. Besides, more than likely Isobel won't care that there's hand drawn stick figures and accidental tie-dies on her shirts.

Again, Chloe blinks at her daughter. She's never, in a million years, going to be able to wrap her head around the idea of Casey _wanting _to spend her own money on another child.

"What?" Casey frowns some more. She wishes her mother would say _something. _A yes would be great; and she can argue with a no; but complete silence and staring….she can do nothing but get uneasier and uneasier by the second.

"Casey…" Chloe finally sighs.

_Finally_! The start of a sentence; and though it sounds like the beginning of a no, it's still something. Casey can work with somethings better than nothings.

"I just want to get the kid some skirts so she can be comfortable. _Please_, Mom." She begs.

And it's not just the begging, but the look of absolute desperation on her daughter's face that makes her relent.

"Fine."

"Thank you!" Casey grins, running up to give her mother a hug for the second time in one day. Then she commands Isobel to stay put for a few seconds.

Though Chloe's still trying to wrap her brain around the fact that Casey just voluntarily hugged her, _again, _she's still able to be amazed by the fact that Isobel stayed put, just as she was told to do. She doesn't move a muscle. Not one.

Casey comes back down a few seconds later with one of the very few skirts Noley owns, which should really be burned because it's nothing short of a brown hideous mess, and a pair of Noley's sneakers.

"Here, put these on." Casey commands, handing the little girl the shoes and skirt. Isobel puts them on with little difficulty, because honestly, it's not rocket science, but when it comes to tyingthe shoes….

"You don't know how to tie, do you?" Casey realizes.

The child shakes her head. "No."

"Okay." Casey sits Isobel down in front of her. "You do this shoe while I'm doing this shoe, that way you can see what I'm doing while you try to do it at the same time, okay?"

Isobel nods her head.

"First you cross these two strings under each other, like this…."

Lois and Chloe watch Casey patiently, and patiently is the key word here, teach the child how to tie her shoe.

She gets it on her third try and Casey congratulates her, telling her how smart she is.

Isobel says nothing back.

"You're supposed to say thank you when someone gives you a compliment." Casey explains. Maybe her father will have less reservations about keeping Isobel if she's a sweet little thing with the most prestigious of manners.

"Why?" Isobel asks, And Casey knows it's not to be difficult, but because she doesn't know any better.

"It's polite. So do it." She says.

"Thank you, Kristin." Isobel says automatically.

"You're welcome." Casey answers.

"Okay, please tell me I'm not the only one who feels like I've stepped into the twilight zone." Lois says to Chloe. She can't stay quiet any longer; and she's hoping she's not the only one weirded out by her niece's behavior.

Chloe shakes her head. "No, you're not."

"Do you think she's really _our _Casey?"

"Could be Brainiac all over again, or maybe even the ghost of Tina Greer." Chloe suggests playfully.

"Tina Greer?"

Chloe nods her head again as she explains. "She was a shape shifter from my high school days. She could look like anyone she wanted. She also had a bit of a thing for Lana."

"Haha. Very funny guys." Casey rolls her eyes. She's not acting _that _strange. "Okay, we're ready to go."

"Be back by 2:30. Baby shower starts at 3."

Casey knows what time the baby shower starts; but because her mother is giving her five hours to shop, she refrains from rolling her eyes again.

Just as she grabs Isobel's hand, freakin' Noley comes out of nowhere.

"Where are you going?" She asks.

Casey nearly tells her it's none of her business, but then she remembers she's supposed to be teaching Isobel manners. She could just imagine how her father, who doesn't want Isobel to stay, would react if he asked her where she was going one day and she told him it was none of his business…all because she heard Casey say it to Noley once.

"I'm going to the mall." Casey answers stiffly, already knowing what's coming next.

"I wanna go!" Noley sings, right on cue.

"No."

"Casey, take Noley with you." Chloe says absently. She can see that Lois wants to talk to her, alone, and that would be much easier to do with Noley out of the house.

Casey covers Isobel's ears and hisses, "But I don't like Noley."

"Kristin!"

"Maybe Lizzy can chaperone her." She presses, more like pleads. If this is punishment, she'll trade for anything else…and that means _anything _else.

"Or maybe you shouldn't go at all." Chloe counters, eyebrows raised.

"Fine." Casey lets go of Isobel's ears. "Keep up." She says to Noley. "Or not. It won't matter to me if you get lost," And before her mother can yell at her again, she zips off, Noley disappearing right behind her.

It's silent for maybe a half a second before she hears it; the inevitable and concerned sounding "Chloe?"

"I know what you're going to say." Chloe sighs, sitting down on the couch and inviting her cousin to sit beside her. Not that the invite was necessary. Lois pretty much goes and does as she pleases, whether she's invited or not.

"Well cuz, I'm gonna say it anyway." She says firmly, plopping down next to Chloe. "That's not Lana. You don't_ have_ to keep her."

Chloe shrugs, a little on the defensive side. Rationally speaking, she knows the little girl isn't Lana; but still… "There's a little of Lana in there somewhere." She explains.

"Well, if you believe that, then you believe there's a little bit of that witch in there too."

"You sound just like Clark."

"And Smallville very well may have a point."

"He may. And he does. But I have a point too. We can teach her to be good."

Lois snorts.

"I can. I'm no Martha Kent, but I'll do my best."

"And if your best isn't good enough? If there's no saving her? If she turns into this super evil witch who"-

"I have to try." Chloe interrupts. "I owe it to Lana to try."

Lois sighs. She gets it. She really does. Lana was Chloe's best friend. She nearly died giving birth to Red and then her body was used as some sort of vessel for Chloe's husband's alien aunt. Yeah, she can see where her cousin might feel she owes Lana but, "How is raising this kid gonna benefit Lana?"

"Like I said, there's a little of Lana in there."

"Alright," Lois grunts. No point arguing with her, she's obviously made up her mind. Time to change the subject. "You need help with anything for the shower?"

"You're offering help?" Chloe scoffs exaggeratedly.

"Hey, I help!"

Chloe smirks.

"I'm tons of useful!" Lois continues to insist….but as the hours fly by all she manages to do by way of helping to prepare for the baby shower is…well, _nothing_.

Now it's 2:30 and the guests are starting to arrive. As are Chloe's children. Well, Lizzy and Andrew have been home for about an hour now; Casey, Noley, and Isobel aren't back yet, but Jonathan's just walking in through the door.

"Hi Mom." He greets, one hand behind his back.

Chloe smiles at her oldest son and greets him back, then her smile turns into a full out grin when he presents her with a bouquet of wild flowers.

"I know it's Maddie's day, but I saw these and thought you'd like them." He smiles.

Chloe hates it when he does that. Well, no she doesn't. She loves is. She just hates the fact that she always wants to cry like a little ninny because she's got the most wonderful children in the world...most of the time anyway.

How'd she get so lucky?

And of course, true to Lois fashion, she ruins the moment by saying, "Where are my flowers?"

"Hello, Aunt Lois." Jonathan smiles.

"Where are my flowers?" She repeats, holding her hand out. He rolls his eyes and disappears for a split second before reappearing with a second bouquet of flowers; though it's noticeably smaller than its predecessor.

Not that it bothers Lois. She just wanted the gesture. "Thanks, Little Fella." Lois grins.

Jonathan just shakes his head and smiles down at his aunt; yes down. She may call him "Little Fella," but he's much taller than her. Has been for a while, but that's been his nickname since before he can remember. He imagines she just can't let it go, and it doesn't hurt him any, so why not let her continue? Plus she gives nicknames to everybody. Calling his father Smallville rather than Clark, and she calls his twin sister Red instead of Lizzy, and the list goes on and on.

"You're being a big ol' donkey." He hears suddenly, and there's no doubt in his mind that was from Noley to Casey.

His mother and aunt ignore the two girls as this is everyday behavior for his sisters; but today's Maddie's day. Not theirs. They're gonna have to be civil with each other over the next three or four hours.

Jonathan sighs, ready to run interference between his youngest sisters should push come to shove. And push _always _comes to shove between those two.

"That's not a nice thing to say." Casey answers distractedly while shutting the door behind herself.

Jonathan stops in his tracks, not even ten feet away from them. They don't notice him though he's hard to miss. And he does nothing to make his presence known. He simply watches them interact, waiting for the moment he'll undoubtedly have to come and break up the squabbling.

Casey starts sorting through her shopping bags and handing a few of the lighter ones to a small dark-haired child.

Jonathan's heard about her. Earlier Andrew called to tell him they were getting a new member added onto the family. He was nervous at first. When his mother is pregnant, it's horribly painful for her. Half Kryptonian babies are hard to carry he guesses; but then Andrew explained the new member was about eight or nine and that she's "special" because she has superspeed and Jonathan breathed a huge sigh of relief.

"You're still a big ol' donkey!" Noley exclaims, hands on her hips; and Jonathan is reminded that he's supposed to be settling an argument.

Casey sighs deeply. "Look, I'm sorry, but I did the best with what I had, Noley."

Without another word, Noley turns on her heels and stomps her way upstairs.

Jonathan frowns. That was _not_ normal.

If Noley calls Casey a donkey, Casey always retaliates negatively. Rolling her eyes, cursing under her breath, calling her something along the lines of a twerp or a monkey, or on special occasions she'll even shove her a little. Then the two argue, chase each other, or whatever, until they're stopped by an adult, or someone like an adult, namely him.

Not today. Normally Noley doesn't storm upstairs after a tift between her and older sister. But what else was there for her to do? Casey didn't give Noley an opening _to _argue back. She just_ apologized_…to_ Noley_…without being _forced_ to. She _avoided_ a fight.

And this alarms Jonathan.

Now, he'd love for his sisters to get along, but he can't ignore it when such a drastic change is made. It just isn't healthy.

He watches Casey a little longer before approaching her, trying to see if he can figure where her head is at.

She squats in front of the dark-haired little girl. "Don't call people out of their names. It's not polite." She instructs. "Do you understand?"

The child nods her head solemnly, no doubt taking everything that's taught to her to heart.

It's almost maternal, the way Casey's got her hands encircling each of the child's arms and is staring her straight in the eyes. It only serves to confuse Jonathan more. Casey's not usually so hands on. So he decides to come out of the shadows because he's getting no answers from simply observing.

"What's wrong with Noley?" Jonathan asks, finally alerting his sister of his presence.

"She wanted me to buy her an outfit too, but I didn't have enough money." Casey answers immediately.

Because she didn't have enough money? Jonathan turns that answer over in his head a few times. That's something Lizzy would say. Casey's normal response would be something along the lines of, "I didn't buy her anything because she's a little twerp," or "She's not my kid, I don't have to buy her a damn thing."

"John. This is Isobel." Casey formally introduces the child. "Isobel, this is my brother, Jonathan. Um, he'll be your brother too once Uncle Ollie comes back with the papers. And if my parents sign them and become your parents too." She says the last bit more to herself, but of course, Jonathan hears her.

"Say hi to him." Casey commands after a bit of silence.

"Hello, Jonathan." The child says softly. Then Casey taps her hand lightly and the little girl, Isobel, holds out her tiny hand for him to take.

And it clicks for Jonathan. He can now see why Casey refused to argue with Noley. She's trying to set a good example for the little girl beside her. She wants her parents to accept her. And suddenly Jonathan finds the child ten times more intriguing. Casey doesn't like kids, but she's going out of her way for this one. There must be something special about her, something that would make his younger sister want her so badly.

He kneels before the child and grabs onto her tiny hand. "Hello Isobel, That's a very pretty name." He answers, staring her straight in the eyes, observing her still. She stares back at him just as intently. The way she looks at him is odd for a girl her age. There is indeed something special about her.

"She picked it herself," Casey chimes in, trying to break the intense silence surrounding the two of them, unaware that the intense silence was uncomfortable for neither one.

"Well, you have very good taste." Jonathan compliments Isobel while offering her a genuine smile. "It's nice to meet you."

Isobel smiles back at him, an involuntary response on her part. She can't help but to instantly feel at peace with this person. She doesn't exactly know why, but she doesn't exactly know to question it either.

Jonathan stands up and pulls Casey into a hug before kissing her on the forehead. He finds himself feeling extremely proud of her for the efforts she's making to ensure this child's safety. Because this home truly is the safest place any child could be. He's also made a decision. He's going to do everything in his power to help Casey with Isobel. Not that he doesn't want to help Isobel, it's just that Casey never asks for anything. She's not even asking for his help now, but he's going to give it. He's her brother, her oldest brother, and he wants her to know she's not alone. That she has his full support; because there's nothing he loves more than his family, and there's nothing he wouldn't do for any one of them.

Casey frowns back at Jonathan, a little confused and weirded out. Sure, she likes him, but he's not usually…they don't usually….well she's not Lizzy. He hugs Lizzy and holds her hands, and she chalks it up to the two of them being twins. Sharing a weird bond or whatever. Then there's Noley, he holds Noley and stuff, but Noley's the youngest, it makes sense to baby the baby sister, and while she loves her brother and she knows he loves her, they just not like that with each other. That's the way it's always been.

"May I?" he asks, cutting in to her thoughts by taking Isobel's hand.

Casey tenses up a little and Jonathan notices straightaway. "She'll be my sister too." He smiles at her, putting her at ease immediately.

Casey feels a huge amount of relief. There aren't many moments when she feels as important to Jonathan as Lizzy and Noley, but when they _do _come by she feels…good. Special even. This time is a little different. This time, she also feels relief. It's like she's not alone in this and she could really use a break from Isobel, right now. It's not the kid; it's the always having to be nice and polite so that Isobel will know what's expected of her.

"Sure, go ahead." She answers, no longer reluctant to leave Isobel's side. She's in great hands. Jonathan's the most responsible of all the Kent kids. Then she puts Isobel's hand in Jonathan's. "Don't let go of her." She instructs before rushing upstairs to put Isobel's clothes away, only thinking about where to put them for a slight second before clearing out one of her own drawers.

Jonathan watches Casey go, a smile on his face. He really never thought he'd see the day when she actually _willingly_ showedthat she could care for someone other than herself. Then, with Isobel's hand in his, he walks toward the back door.

"Where are we going, Jonathan?" Isobel speaks up.

"I'm gonna show you around the farm. This will be your home now, so you should know what's what, right?" He smiles.

She smiles back up at him. Again, the action is so involuntary she doesn't even realize she's doing it.

Not one to beat around the bush, he asks the first question that came to his mind the second Casey ran upstairs. "Why do I have to hold your hand, Isobel?"

"So I don't run away."

"_Are _you going to run away?"

Isobel doesn't answer. She doesn't know. She feels okay with these people. She's not afraid of them. Granted, she's not afraid of much.

"Run if you feel you have to." Jonathan says before dropping her hand and holding his breath.

"Will you chase me?"

Jonathan kneels in front of Isobel, staring intently into her eyes once again. "If you're unhappy here, who am I to stop you? But always think before you act, Isobel. Where are you going to go? You're going to have a family soon. You're going to belong here soon. Why not stay here?"

Isobel stares back at Jonathan, her head tilted to the side as she thinks about his words. It doesn't take long for her to realize they make sense.

"No." She answers finally. "I'm not going to run away."

"Good." Jonathan smiles.

The tour shouldn't really last too long, but Jonathan takes his time, wanting to get a feel for the child as well as give Casey a break. It doesn't take him long to realize she's a bit empty. Not stupid or anything, because she's actually very smart, and she speaks very well, but there are a lot of simple things she doesn't know. Moral codes and certain common mannerisms. All things that can be taught; but things she must definitely should have been taught long ago.

The last place he takes her is to the barn, his room. There isn't really a lot of room in the house, so his parents fixed up the barn loft so that it's now a bedroom for him and his brother.

He's met at the door by his twin sister. "Hey Lizzy." He smiles easily as he often does when he sees her.

She smiles back. "Hey Johnny, Whatcha up to?"

"Just taking Isobel for a walk." He shrugs.

Lizzy frowns, nearly asking who Isobel is, but then it comes to her. The little girl. She's found a name. "Isobel. I like it. Hello Isobel." She smiles down at the little girl.

"Hello Moira." Isobel answers politely, the way she's been taught to do.

Lizzy hesitates for a second. It's weird being called Moira when she's not in trouble.

Isobel stares at Lizzy's hair, the fire hair, with her mouth slightly parted. Slowly she reaches up, wanting to touch it again; but she can't quite reach.

Jonathan frowns, slightly confused, but Lizzy knows what the child wants, so she stoops down so the girl can touch her hair.

Jonathan raises an eyebrow at her and Lizzy shrugs back at him. She has no idea why the girl likes her hair so much, but it's not in her to make her feel bad about it either. But after just a few seconds, it gets a bit awkward so Lizzy stands, picks the child up and places her on her hip. That way Isobel can still play with her hair, but it's not as obvious or weird.

"That the new Kent, Red?" she suddenly hears to the side of her and she groans at the sound of Sammy's voice. "Lemme see, lemme see." He insists, ignoring the fact that he'd just been ignored.

Lizzy rolls her eyes and turns a little so her cousin can get a good look at the child.

"She's alright I guess." He concedes. "But she looks even less like a Kent than you do."

Again, Lizzy rolls her eyes. "Do you have to be so"-

"Honest?" Sammy cuts in.

"That's not what I was gonna say." Lizzy tells him, making Jonathan chuckle. Sammy laughs as well. He's an easygoing kid.

"Lizzy! Mom wants…." Noley doesn't finish her sentence. She takes one look at _that girl_ sitting comfortably on _her _sister's hip and hurls herself at Lizzy.

Lizzy catches her. She always does, but it comes with a scold this time. "Careful Noley!" Lizzy grunts while trying to adjust her sister so that she can comfortably hold both girls. And though Lizzy has the physical strength to hold them, it just isn't comfortable. She sends Jonathan a look, nonverbally asking for help.

He in turn gives her a look as well; a slight nod to the right and to the left, asking which girl to take without words.

It's a tough one. Lizzy wants Isobel to feel like a part of the family, but it's quite obvious that Noley's feeling like she's being replaced. In the end, she nods toward the right, toward Isobel.

Jonathan nods his head and holds his arms out. "Isobel, I'm going to have you go back with Casey, okay?" He says as he places her on the ground.

Isobel nods her head, giving the fire hair one last glance over her shoulder.

It doesn't take long to find Casey. She's in the front room, along with the guest of honor, Maddie. Jonathan quickly gives the mother-to-be a hug before introducing Isobel.

Isobel greets Maddie as she's been taught to do, but she can't seem to take her eyes away from her stomach.

"It's not polite to stare." Casey says beside her, once again resuming her role as Isobel's teacher of manners.

Reluctantly, Isobel drags her eyes away from Maddie's intruding belly. Then she looks up at Casey. Rather than wait for it, Casey just answers. "She's pregnant. There's a baby in there."

"Who put it in there?" Isobel asks immediately.

"Her husband."

"How?"

Jonathan, Maddie, and seemingly everyone else in the house looks to Casey, wondering how she's going to explain that one, and Casey in turn searches out her mother. She is _not _ready to have the talk about the birds and the bees.

But it seems her mother's stepped out of the room for the moment. "I'll get you a book about it later," is the best Casey can do for now.

Despite being told how impolite it is to stare, Isobel finds herself looking at Maddie's belly again.

Maddie smiles at the little girl. Even though Casey told the girl it's impolite to stare, Maddie doesn't feel the least bit offended. "You wanna feel Isobel?" She asks the child.

Before Isobel can answer, Maddie grabs her hand and places it on her belly. The baby kicks immediately.

"Did you feel that?"

"Yes." Isobel frowns.

"That was the baby kicking!" Maddie exclaims in that over exaggerated voice adults use with children.

"It was?" Isobel's frown deepens. She wants the baby to come out so she can see it.

"Oh my god!" Maddie suddenly gasps and doubles over. "It's too soon. I'm not due for another four weeks." She cries, definitely in full-fledged panic mode.

Immediately there are people hovering over Maddie, trying to make her sit, trying to get her water, trying to get her to breathe, offering to take her to the hospital; And there's blood. There's blood coming out of Maddie, trickling down her legs.

And Casey knows she should get Isobel out of here; that she shouldn't see this, but she can't move.

"It's not time!" Maddie wails again.

"It's not time for what?" Isobel looks up to Casey.

Casey looks down at Isobel, grateful for a distraction, _any_ kind of distraction. "Babies have to stay in their mommy's stomachs for about nine months. If they come out too soon, they can be hurt." She explains.

Abruptly Maddie stops screaming. The pain is gone, as if it never was. She breathes a sigh of relief until she locks eyes with Isobel and her gut wrenches. Her instinct telling her there's something not right about the child. What's even more insane is that she feels like Isobel was the cause for what just happened. But she shakes her head. Her hormones _have_ been off the charts for the last few months.


	4. Chapter 4

**The Fallen Sky: **Lol. I got a kick out of the image of you pointing at your screen and calling Isobel evil. I wasn't too sure you guys would get what happened, not that you're dumb, but because I wanted to make it obvious, but not say it outright, so I had to depend solely on my writing to kind of have that balance. I'm relieved it's seemed to work out.

And you're right about "my Lois." ;) She's definitely the Lois from around season 4. That was my favorite Lois.

**Thorber stone: **lol. Play nice guys! And thank you! Oh, God! A Lizzy t-shirt? Oh man, what have I done?;)

As for the fowl incident, I noticed it after I posted. Lol. I guess that's what happens when you try to write parts of a story on your phone while using sure-type. At first, it put in "fuel," but then I went back to correct it. Fowl and foul were right next to each other. I could've sworn I touched foul, but oh well. I'll probably just keep to writing on my desktop;)

**Jeremy Shane: **thanks!

{(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)}

Dr. Emil says Maddie's baby is fine. Maddie too. Therefore, Clark shouldn't be so worried. But he is. And not just about Maddie and her baby. He's worried about his family; his wife and children.

There's a little girl in his home who calls herself Isobel. There's a little girl in his home who looks like Lana. And once upon a time there was a witch who looked like Lana and called herself Isobel.

She lived centuries ago. Died centuries ago as well; but this is Smallville. It wasn't the weirdest thing he'd seen when she was resurrected and took possession of Lana's body not even twenty years ago. But she was one of the most formidable opponents he'd come across during his high school years. She was a ruthless witch who wanted the Stones of Power. And she would do whatever it took to get them. That included stripping Clark of his powers and beating him near to death when he got in her way.

And now he's supposed to take a chance on this little girl in his home. This little girl named Isobel.

"Clark, go home." Maddie says suddenly, sighing quite heavily and dramatically. She's not in a hospital per se. Dr. Emil is only one man with a few selected aides after all; but she is in a hospital-like setting, and the way Clark's been hovering over her off and on for the past few hours is making her feel like she's on her death bed. Or very close to it at least.

Clark shakes his head. "You're still in the hospital. You're not fine."

"Yeah, but only for observation." She rebuttals.

"And I'm observing." He says stubbornly, taking one of Maddie's hands into his own.

Maddie rolls her eyes. "Seriously, you're making my husband look bad."

"No I'm not."

"And don't say he's making himself look bad by not being here because I'm _fine_." She cuts him off.

Clark shakes his head. "I wasn't going to say that." He says gently.

"Oh?"

"No. I was going to say that you're my family. I have the right to worry about you."

Maddie inhales sharply. She has a father. Everyone has a father, except maybe that child, Isobel; but her father is a murdering monster. She has nothing to do with him. Clark saw to that.

She was nine when she met him. He made her feel safe with him right away. Which was strange. Every foster parent she'd had tossed her away when she displayed some sort of magic, when she accidently broke a pitcher, or a window, or a wineglass. She'd gotten used to feeling unwanted and temporary…until she met Clark. He understood her. Took the time to get to know her, saved her from her lunatic of father, helped her learn to control her powers, and found her a stable home.

They kept in touch after she went to live with her grandmother. She was surprised. She thought he'd forget about her, like most people did. They sent emails back and forth until one day she didn't send one. She was testing him, unconsciously of course. She tricked herself into thinking she was too busy. The next day, she tricked herself into thinking she was too tired to write back. The next day, she tricked herself into thinking she forgot. And it seemed he'd forgotten her too. But that was okay. She was used to that. At least she still had her grandma.

That weekend started off uneventful. But nothing rarely happens at eight o'clock in the morning anyway. Until the doorbell rang. She let her grandma get the door. She was sleepy still. Suddenly, the covers were snatched off her head. She looked up, scowling at her grandmother, but she wasn't there. Clark was.

"You haven't been answering my emails." He accused. "Did you forget about me already?"

Maddie's grin was so big it hurt her face. She leaped out of bed and into Clark's arms. He took her to the farm that weekend. And many more weekends after that. It wasn't long before she was considered family. Mrs. Kent was like a mother to her, and Clark was, well he was only ten years older than her, so he wasn't like a father. And he wasn't really a friend either, that's a little creepy. Maybe he was something of a brother with a huge dose of paternal instincts. What do you call that? She doesn't know, but it changed her life for the better.

And now she can't help thinking about another little girl. One who's practically in the same situation she had been in. One who needs a family and someone to believe in her. One who needs _Clark_ to believe in her. And she realizes Clark hasn't mentioned her, not once. And she wonders if he's even met her yet.

"Have you been home at all yet?" Maddie asks suddenly.

Clark shakes his head, getting the sneaky feeling of where this conversation is heading.

"Are you avoiding Isobel?" She questions bluntly.

Clark blinks. He is, but he didn't think it was that obvious.

"Go home Clark." Maddie sighs. "I know it's probably going to be hard to face her, but she can't help that she looks like Lana. She's a sweet kid."

Clark thinks he's imagined the way Maddie's voice faltered when she described Isobel as a sweet kid; but he feels he knows better. And he doesn't press.

"Isobel's lucky." Maddie continues. "I wish you'd become my father." She smiles up brightly at her.

If Clark could have his way, he would've. He doesn't want to play father to Isobel. He'd take Maddie over her any day.

But he smiles back. down at the young mother-to-be.

"Go." She urges.

Clark chuckles. Just one more thing before he leaves though.

"I Love you, Maddie."

"I love you too Clark."

Clark's gone seconds later, but he doesn't go home.

He makes a call to his mother, hoping she's not busy; but knowing she is at the same time. It's the only reason she wasn't able to get away from D.C. in time for Maddie's baby shower. But he needs her for this, and he knows she'll give him the time. Not just because he's her only son, but because well, it's mostly because he's her only son. And it's not like he'd interrupt her busy day if it weren't an emergency.

Martha answers on the second ring. "Is everything alright, Clark?"

Clark smiles ruefully. "Yes. And no. You're….I need your help." He settles for, because telling his mother she's about to become a grandmother again is like accepting the fact that Isobel's becoming family, and not just a guest in his home until she proves herself too dangerous to be around.

"Whatever I can do, just let me know." She answers patiently.

Clark sighs. "Chloe wants to adopt a child. A little girl." He starts off.

Martha gives a low whistle, something his father used to do a lot. When he passed, she kinda picked up the habit. It's comforting in a way. "Six kids? Clark…"

She's waiting for the rest. Clark knows she is. So he carries on. "She's there already. Oliver's getting the paper work."

"That was fast." Martha puts in when Clark pauses there.

"Andrew and Casey found her at the Luthor Mansion. She's…special."

No longer wanting to beat around the bush, Martha asks her son directly. "What do you need from me, Clark?"

"Come with me to meet her."

"You haven't yet?"

"No. Not yet."

Clark can practically hear Martha frowning on the other end of the line. He can run faster than a speeding bullet, lift a hundred times his weight, hell, he can freakin' fly; yet he needs his mother to come with him to meet his new daughter.

"Give me five minutes." She concedes moments later.

"I'll be there in six."

{(O)(O)(O)}

Things have been going pretty good so far. Well, as good as can be after the guest of honor is rushed off to see Dr. Emil. But the one thing that's bothering Casey, is her dad's absence. He hasn't been home yet, not once. Here it is, dinner time, and he hasn't set foot on the Kent Farm.

All the guests have gone now, including her aunt, Lois. She left Sam behind though. Personally, Casey thinks her aunt would've stayed for dinner too if Isobel hadn't insisted on calling her Tante instead of Lois. It was a little weird, but so is the kid so Casey shrugged it off.

Lois couldn't. No matter how many times Lois told Isobel that her name was Lois, Isobel still called her Tante. If Casey didn't know any better, she'd say Isobel was purposely trying to get a rise out of Lois Lane; but the kid didn't smile like she was getting a kick out of it or anything.

Casey wanders into the kitchen, alone. Isobel's with Jonathan and Noley. Her mother is loading up the dinner platters to set in the middle of the table. She could help she guesses, but Lizzy's already doing that.

"Casey, get the silverware, please." Chloe says.

So much for not helping. She obediently starts gathering enough utensils for eight before remembering her dad's not here. "Mom? Do you think dad's gonna make it for dinner?"

She doesn't get an answer to her question, the front door is opened, ('cause no one ever knocks in Smallville), and her grandmother enters.

"Hi Grandma!" Noley comes out of nowhere to greet the older woman.

Martha greets her overly exuberant granddaughter, but not as she usually does. She's been caught off guard and is staring at the newest addition to the Kents. Clark didn't tell her she looks just like Lana.

She covers her mouth and her eyes water just a little. And Casey remembers she knew Lana when she was a little girl. Like, when Lana was three. She remembers the story about how the girl asked her grandmother to make a wish, and the same day she and Jonathan Kent found a little boy in the cornfield. Of course it wasn't anything as romantic as that. There was a meteor shower that killed, and injured, dozens. Both of Lana's parents being among the deceased. But still, Martha always remembers Lana when she remembers how she got to be so lucky as to have found her son.

"This is Isobel." Casey speaks up a little nervously. Her dad is standing in the doorway now, but he's just standing there staring at Isobel. No smile, which is unnerving, but no frown, so that's sort of okay, she guesses.

Martha stops gaping at the child and gives her a warm smile. "Hello Isobel." She greets.

The child says nothing back.

"Isobel, its bad manners when someone says hello to you and you don't say it back." Casey reminds her.

"Hello, Grandma." Isobel says to Martha.

Martha's eyes widen just a little and Casey winces, realizing that she didn't introduce them properly. Isobel probably thinks Grandma is actually her name.

"Is it okay?" she asks.

Martha nods. "Of course it's okay." She agrees easily.

Casey can't help herself, she gives Martha a big hug…well, as big of a hug that she can give without crushing her. Which Martha returns with equal fervor. It's not that hugs from Casey are rare; but the ones initiated by her are pretty scarce.

Then her dad comes in fully. His eyes still locked on Isobel.

Isobel frowns and cocks her head to the side. She starts looking around, searching for something, and she finds it the second she steps around Martha. Her eyes lock on Clark and he actually kind of flinches.

Well, that's not good.

"Dad, this is Isobel," Casey intercedes. "Isobel, this is Dad."

Isobel studies Clark, her head tilted up, eyes roaming across his face. The way she holds his gaze, it's uncomfortably intense. There almost seems to be a hint of recognition, but it's gone quickly.

Finally, Isobel holds out a tiny hand. "Hello, Papa." She says in a small voice.

Clark doesn't look like he's about to take the child's hand, but then Casey gives him a pleading look.

He squares his shoulders. He should try.

"Dinner!" Chloe calls from the dining room. Everyone rushes out. Everyone except for Clark, Casey, Isobel, and Jonathan.

Martha gives her son's arm a squeeze, before joining her grandchildren and daughter-in-law.

"Are you ready to eat dinner, Isobel?" Clark frowns at Isobel. She's still got her hand held out. He hasn't shaken it yet.

"What do I have to do?" She replies.

"Go to the table with the rest of the family." he answers while taking her hand in his and guiding her to the dining room table. It's one of the few additions to the Kent home. He's got a much bigger family than his parents had. So naturally, he needed a much bigger table. It seats ten comfortably.

It's quiet at the table. Too quiet. There are too many kids and a Sammy here for it to be so quiet. But everyone's watching him as he leads Isobel to the table.

He sits her between Andrew and Noley, purposely separating her from Casey and Jonathan. They notice, but keep quiet. As soon as Isobel's settled in her chair, he fixes her a plate. It's a small plate. Lana never ate much anyway.

Then Clark sits next to his wife. She smiles at him. He kisses her and smiles back.

"Gross, not at the table guys." Casey rolls her eyes. But Clark notices she's smiling at him. he knows she wants Isobel to stay the most. He heard it from Chloe over the phone at least ten times today. He gets up and kisses her too.

"Dad!" she complains. But there isn't a single soul at this table who doesn't know she doesn't mean it.

Clark sits back down. And it seems the mood is broken. Everyone lightens up and start to dig in.

Clark watches the child carefully as she eats. She has a butter knife, but he fights himself to let her keep it. It's not very sharp, but he just doesn't want to take any chances with her.

She eats slowly, frowning as she shoves tiny spoons-full of cranberry sauce into her mouth.

"What's the matter with you?" Andrew finally asks her.

"I don't like the way this taste."

"Then stop eating it." He instructs, like it's the most obvious thing to do. Then he scoops it off of her plate and onto his, frowning at her the whole time. What kind of person prefers peas over cranberry sauce. The kid is obviously an alien.

Once the cranberry sauce is gone from Isobel's plate, everything disappears quickly. Neatly, but quickly.

"Do you want more, Isobel?" Casey smirks.

She nods her head. "What do I have to do?"

She's just about to tell the child to hold up her plate so she can put more on it when Jonathan cuts in.

"Isobel, what _can _you do?"

Everyone gives Jonathan a questioning glance, and then their eyes are back on the child…whose spoon is hovering midair. She moves her hand to the right, just a little, and the spoon slowly moves to the right as well.

"Isobel!" Clark exclaims.

"Yes, Papa?" The child answers, not the least bit startled. She focuses her gaze on Clark, and the spoon still hovers.

"That's enough." He says, making a conscious effort to calm down.. "Put the spoon down."

Isobel puts her spoon down and looks at Casey expectantly. Martha's the one to remember the child had been asking for seconds.

Clark pulls on Chloe's arm a little. "Chloe, can I talk to you for a minute?" he asks, but it's mostly a formality. At his guidance, she's out of her seat and in the kitchen within seconds.

"She can't stay." He says bluntly, no preamble. Not for this.

"What do you mean she can't stay!?" A voice, not belonging to Chloe yells at him from behind. He turns around, and two of his children, Casey and Jonathan, are standing before him.

"Casey…"

"You didn't even give her a chance, Daddy." She whispers before stalking off.

Clark sighs, then looks to Jonathan, one of his wisest children. He knows he's going to get the truth, not just the truth, but the logical, rational truth.

"She's right Dad." He says calmly. rationally. "You didn't give her a chance. She didn't hurt anyone, just lifted her spoon."

Clark sighs. His children are right. He knows it, but Isobel…she still puts him on edge.


	5. Chapter 5

**Thorber Stone: **Lol. I wouldn't say Clark is _afraid _of a little girl. He'd be the worst "superhero" who ever lived if that was the case. It's more like he's wary of her _potential_. He knows she picked the names Margaret, Isobel, Lana, and Elizabeth for herself; which means the child has an inkling of who she is, or who she had been, even if it is an unconscious inkling.

Now, Margaret Isobel Thoreaux, the witch from season 4, was able to immobilize Clark and strip him of his powers. And without powers, Clark is as human as you and me. This means he can be killed with a twist of the neck, a bullet to the heart, and all the million other ways a human can die.

So how, you ask, is little Isobel so lethal in comparison to Connor Kent, who could lift a whole house with one hand and his tactile telekinesis; Maddie, who when she's mad can make glass fly and heads literally roll (Very disturbing image by the way.); and five Kent children who have the capacity to level cities in a minute?

By simply taking the power to do all of _that_, _away_ from them.

So sure, the kid just lifted her spoon, but that's not what alarmed Clark. What alarmed him was the fact that telekinesis was one of the witch's powers. And if the little girl's got one of her powers, who's to say she hasn't got them all? Do you really think he wants a potential witch who could kill him and his children living with him? Even if she's not really the same Isobel from before, do you really think he'd be willing to take the chance?

So thanks for seeing good in Isobel Lana. Naturally, I want you guys to like her, because she's my OC. But that doesn't mean she'll be good;)

**Jeremy Shane: **Thanks!

**The Fallen Sky: **Lol. I'm sure Greg showed up at one point, but I think Maddie convinced him she was fine and to go back to work. As I said, Clark hadn't been there the whole time, he just popped in a couple of times and what I wrote happened to be the latest "popped in" moment.

And thank you for understanding Clark's paranoia about Isobel. It's not just him anymore. He's got children and a wife to protect, not to mention everyone else who needs him to be Superman. How can he protect all those people if Isobel strips him of his powers? He won't even be able to protect himself. Also, he probably still feels guilty about Lana dying. So now he's got a constant Lana look-alike. So Isobel's like a double whammy.

As for Jonathan staying behind to watch, that was just Jonathan being Jonathan. He's the most observant of all the Kent kids, and I think he noticed something wasn't right about the way his father was acting around Isobel. So, he stayed behind to watch more of the interaction.

And the way Clark looked to Jonathan for consult of sorts, I don't know, I guess that just happened a lot in my family. My mother would come to me after she's handed out punishment to one of my younger siblings and ask me if I thought it was fair. It was ultimately her decision, I knew that, but if she was asking me for my opinion, it meant she really wanted it. So I would give her an honest answer. Sometimes I agreed with her. Other times I didn't. If I was able to give my mother a legitimate excuse, or speak logically and _objectively_ on behalf of my siblings, those were usually the times I was able to get them out of punishment.

{(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)}

There's nothing special about the new girl. Not according to Noley anyway. In fact, the new girl is weird. The way she eats is weird. She's so neat, not dropping the tiniest of crumbs when she forks up her food. And the way she cuts the meat in precise squares…. Weird just weird.

And that's not all. The way she talks is weird. The way she sits up so straight is weird. The way she never smiles is weird. And the way she stares, a lot, at everybody is not only weird but unnerving as well.

So, for the life of her, Noley can't see what the heck Casey likes about her. Especially because Casey doesn't like _anybody_.

"Clear the table." Clark announces after everyone looks full. And Noley instantly goes to the living room. It's routine. After dinner, the older kids stay behind to clean up, without using their powers, and Noley is allowed to watch a little TV before she has to take a bath and go to bed.

But the new girl, Isobel, doesn't know about the routine. She stays at the table.

"Isobel." Casey calls to her. "Come with me."

Immediately, like always, Isobel does what Casey says. Noley bets that's the only reason Casey likes the new girl so much. Because she does everything the bossy donkey says without ever questioning her. Ever.

Noley scowls a little when Casey sits Isobel next to her.

"Watch the television while I do my chores." She bosses, and Isobel does it.

Noley frowns at Isobel. But Isobel doesn't notice because she's watching the television, just like Donkey Casey told her to. Noley's frown deepens. The new girl just do everything Casey says like some kind of robot. She can tell her no sometimes. In fact, it's _normal _to say no sometimes.

But Noley keeps her thoughts to herself and says nothing to Isobel. If she wants to be Casey's slave, then so be it.

About a minute of watching cartoons pass before Sammy comes into the living room and changes the channel. He's not much for chores, so he's left Andrew to do his part alone.

"Change it back!" Noley exclaims when she's suddenly watching a huge truck drive over smaller ones. She hates watching sports, or whatever monster trucking is supposed to be. It's boring.

"Just a second, Noley." He answers absently. And Noley knows he has no plans of changing the channel back anytime soon.

"Sammy!" Noley hears her mother yell from the kitchen. "Change it back!"

Noley grins. Sometimes she swears her mother's lying about not having any powers. Otherwise, how does she always know everything?

Sammy grumbles something low under his breath. A bunch of bad words, in fact. Noley heard them, but she's not much of a tattle. Besides, she got her way, it wouldn't benefit her in the least to tell on her cousin.

"That's Papa." Isobel says out of nowhere. Noley looks behind her, searching for her father. Sammy looks at the TV and notes Superman on the screen, saving people as usual. He realizes what Isobel blurted out and knows that if they had been watching this footage with strangers, she would've blown the family secret.

No bueno.

"Look kid," Sammy says to Isobel. She doesn't acknowledge him until sits next to her and turns her to face him. It's obvious he can't be talking to anyone else. "When you see your, uh, Papa, dressed like that, with the cape and suit, you have to call him Superman, understand?" He finishes without missing a beat. This is very important.

Isobel nods her head. It's a very simple order. But Sam continues because he needs the girl to understand _why _she has to call him Superman rather than dad….or Papa, sometimes.

"Do you know how to keep a secret?"

Isobel doesn't answer. Because Isobel doesn't know. She knows what a secret is; the text definition of it at least, but she's never had to actually do it before.

Sam takes Isobel's lack of response for a negative answer. Then he starts to explain. "You have to keep Superman's identity a secret. No one can know that he's your dad, uh, papa. Do you understand?"

"Yes." Isobel answers.

A little too quickly for Sam's taste. It seems the kid hasn't grasped the urgency of the situation. If she had, there'd be a thoughtful frown on her face, right? And if there was no thoughtful frown, there'd at least be curiosity, right? The kid should at least be asking him why. So he explains further.

"So if someone comes to you and asks you if you know Superman's real name, you have to say no. You have to _lie_."

Again, Isobel accepts quickly, too quickly.

Sam groans. There's just no way the kid's getting it. Not with how calm she is about it all. So he tries to shake her up a little.

"If someone found out who he was, you could put him, and this whole family in danger."

She doesn't so much as blink.

"Including yourself." he includes. Since the kid's new to the family, she might not care for their safety yet, but surely she cares about her own.

Still, he gets nothing from her.

"Do you want anything bad to happen to your new family?" he asks directly.

"No." Isobel answers.

Still impassive as ever.

Sam gives up. He's not explaining it right. He needs help.

"Stay right here, I'll be right back."

Isobel nods her head.

Noley stares at the new girl curiously. Maybe it's not just Casey. Maybe she listens to everybody.

That gives her an idea.

"Hey, Isobel." The new girl turns and looks at Noley. "Raise your hand." Noley commands.

"Which one?"

Noley doesn't even think about it. "Both of them."

Isobel does so.

Oh, this is too good to be true. It's not just donkey Casey that has a slave. It's her too!

When Sam comes back, he has Chloe with him. Noley was so excited about getting Isobel to do things, she didn't even hear her mother coming. Otherwise she would've told Isobel to put her hands down.

Chloe frowns at Isobel. "Why are you doing that, sweetie?"

"Noel told me to." Isobel answers promptly.

Noley sends a quick glare the new girl's way. Not only was she tattled on, but nobody ever calls her Noel.

Chloe shoots a look at her youngest. Well, technically, Noley's no longer the youngest anymore. Isobel is.

Noley just shrugs her shoulders in response. Really, what can she say to explain herself?

Her mother gives her another look. It's not anger, just this mild form of disappointment maybe. It makes Noley feel bad instantly.

_All I did was told the new girl to hold her hands up_; she tries to reason with herself. But she knows there's much more to it than that. She took advantage of the new girl, just because she could. Just for _sport_. And _that _is bad _character_.

Chloe has turned her attention to Isobel now, and Noley pretends to watch cartoons. It doesn't seem as though her mother will say anything else to her about what she'd done, but she still feels bad. Ashamed even.

"Isobel, you saw Clark on TV dressed as Superman?"

"Yes, Maman."

Chloe sits next to Isobel on the couch. "Sammy says he tried to explain to you about keeping Clark's identity as Superman a secret."

Isobel just stares at Chloe, waiting for her to continue.

"He explained there may be a time when you have to lie to keep that secret."

Again, Isobel stares, waiting for more.

"Do you understand why?"

"To keep my new family safe." She answers promptly, the first inclination Sam gets that Isobel had heard every word he said.

"Exactly." Chloe says. "To keep your new family safe. But there's another secret you have to keep Isobel."

Isobel doesn't so much as raise an inquiring eyebrow. She simply waits for Chloe to continue.

"Your abilities, like what you did with the spoon during dinner, or how fast you run, you have to keep that s secret to. Only we, your family, can know. Do you understand?"

Isobel frowns. The first expression to come across her face since Casey sat her down to watch cartoons with Noley.

"What is it, Isobel?"

"Some people already know what I can do." She says.

"Who?" Chloe asks. It's the first reference Isobel's volunteered information of her own about her life before today.

"The doctors." She answers simply.

Chloe doesn't press. She knows about the doctors already. Isobel mentioned them earlier when she was pressed on information. The doctors, as Isobel refers to them, are all conveniently nameless. They could be anyone. Otherwise, The League would've found them by now.

"Well, there's nothing we can do about the doctors. But no one else is to find out, understand?"

"Yes, Maman."

"Not only does that mean you can't tell people, but you can't _show_ them either, understand?"

"Yes, Maman."

Like Sammy, Chloe thinks Isobel's answers are a bit too quick. The child doesn't seem to think any of the rules over in the least. She just accepts them; but because Chloe's witnessed Isobel's blinding obedience all day, she's not as alarmed as her nephew.

"Alright. TV time's up. Noley, go take a bath." Chloe commands.

"Youngest goes first," Noley answers without taking her eyes off the television. At least one good thing's come out of the new girl being here. She gets a few extra minutes to stay up. Seeing how bed time is after bath time.

"Noley…" Chloe warns.

"What? She's the youngest now," she protests, pointing at Isobel.

Chloe sighs. There isn't an official rule about the youngest showering first, but Noley's always gone before her siblings because her bedtime has always been earlier than the others'.

"Shower, Noley. Now." Her mother orders.

Noley's eyes widen. That's not fair! If the new girl is a Kent now, she should be treated like the Kents. Not special. Because there's nothing special about her anyway!

But she doesn't protest verbally anymore. She shoots up and stomps her way upstairs, wanting the whole house to know she's upset.

She expects Lizzy to come to her first and ask her what's wrong, but it's her father.

Gulp.

She knows her dad loves her and all, but he loves her mother too. Just how pleased would he be with her if she told him "Mommy's not being fair to me and that's the reason I'm stomping upstairs?" He'll think she's a brat, just like Casey's always calling her.

So she lies. "Nothing." She says.

Her dad frowns. "It's not nothing, Noley Noles."

One day, when Noley's older and bigger, she's gonna hate being called Noley Noles. It's gonna embarrass her; but right now, she totally welcomes the affectionate nickname.

"What's so special about Isobel?" she blurts out.

Clark smiles. "She's new."

"So? Why do Casey and Mom…why do they…" Noley can't figure out what she's trying to say, but her father seems to understand her all the same.

He pulls her up into his arms. She's nine now. Too old to be held, but sometimes, like right now, it's really nice.

"They're trying to make her feel welcomed, like family." he answers.

"Well, if they want her to feel like family, they should just act normal around her." Noley reasons.

"They will. They just want her to get comfortable first. Okay?"

Noley still doesn't get it, but she nods anyway.

"You'll try too, right?"

Noley nods again. She's not gonna treat Isobel like she's precious and special, but she won't call her a donkey yet.

Clark puts Noley down. "Good girl." He smiles at her. She smiles back.

"Isn't it time for patrolling." Clark hears behind him. He turns and spots Casey. Unsurprisingly, Isobel's standing next to her.

Clark frowns at his daughter. He has a sneaky suspicion that Casey _wants_ him out of the house. But she's right all the same. It is time for him to go. The league is pretty big now. Everyone does an hour of patrolling a day, two or three at a time. He always patrols from 7pm to 8pm with his partner, and Casey's godmother, Mia. Though he is called during the day for the big emergencies.

He goes down stairs, kisses his wife. And is gone.

Noley goes in her room to get her bath stuff, and Casey follows her in noting Lizzy's already in the room, reading. Good. She wants to talk to her.

"So, sleeping arrangements…" Casey starts off as soon as Noley leaves. Lizzy looks up from her book. "I'd let Isobel sleep with me, but I don't want to crush her in her sleep."

"Dad doesn't crush Mama in her sleep." Lizzy frowns.

"Dad doesn't get much sleep then if he's constantly aware of having to _not _crush mom."

"It's not like you need the sleep."

"But I want it."

"No one's sharing a bed." Chloe says in the doorway, announcing her presence to her daughters. Not that it was needed. They both heard her come up. "Your father and I talked it over and we've decided to let you have the cellar, Casey."

Casey thinks about it for a second. It confuses Chloe. The cellar's always been Casey's "spot." She's wanted to move down there for years now, so what is there for her to think over?

"Nah, Lizzy can take it." Casey says after a while.

"What?" Chloe frowns. She didn't expect that. She knows Lizzy would love to be out in the cellar, it was in her journals a couple of times, but she doesn't know why Casey would willingly offer the space up.

"Yeah, Lizzy can sleep in the cellar, and Isobel can take Lizzy's bed."

Isobel. That must be it. Casey's shown an alarming attachment to the girl.

But then Lizzy shakes her head. "I want to stay in the house."

Chloe's jaw drops. What the hell is going on? She understands Casey's reason for wanting to stay, but why does Lizzy want to?

"I want to stay in the house too." Casey answers immediately, fixing her gaze on her older sister.

"Why?" Lizzy asks.

"Why do _you _want to stay?" Casey challenges.

"So let me get this straight," Chloe interrupts her arguing teens. "You two are arguing over who gets to stay in this bedroom when the both of you _want _to be in the cellar? What's going on?" she demands.

Casey raises a challenging eyebrow at her sister. "She doesn't want to leave Noley in here by herself." She answers.

Chloe frowns. "But she won't be"-

"Yes, Mama. She will." Lizzy says, fixing Casey with a hard stare. Casey's not gonna treat Noley good and they both know it. It hasn't been hard to pick up on how Noley's feeling about all the attention Isobel is being given, especially by Casey. If Lizzy were to leave those three in the room together, it'd be a complete disaster. It'd be Casey and Isobel vs. Noley all day every day.

"Fine." Casey shrugs. "How about me and Isobel go to the cellar and you and Noley stay in here."

"That's fine," Lizzy concedes.

"It's not Fine!" Chloe interrupts. "Isobel's eight. She's not sleeping outside!" Her daughters have truly lost their minds.

At that moment, Noley makes an appearance.

Casey shifts her focus to her little sister. "Hey Noley, how'd you like to sleep in the cellar with Lizzy?"

"Cool!" Noley exclaims, eyes lighting up in excitement.

"She's nine!" Chloe screams back.

There's no doubt that was a firm no, but Casey presses anyway. "She's not human like Isobel, Mom. Plus Jonathan, Lizzy, and Andrew will be out there with her."

"Enough! Casey, outside, by yourself. That's final!"

Casey nearly argues back, but one glance at the silent, but ever observing, Isobel and she changes her mind.

"Okay." She relents.

"Because I said so!" Chloe yells.

Noley giggles.

Lizzy frowns.

"I said, okay." Casey rolls her eyes.

"Oh." Chloe blinks. She's not used to Casey not arguing back. "Sorry," she mutters before telling Casey to pack up her stuff. Then she leaves.

"Help me pack my stuff." Casey tells Isobel.

No one is surprised when Isobel does.

Casey gives Isobel a light bag of her stuff to carry downstairs. She doesn't need Isobel's help, but she wants to talk to her before she's left alone with the annoying brat and Lizzy.

Once in the cellar, Casey starts lecturing. "Don't be such a puppet. You don't have to do everything everyone tells you if you don't want to."

Isobel doesn't say anything. She waits for Casey to elaborate. She's only ever done whatever people have told her to do her whole life.

Casey sees that Isobel's confused so she starts giving her examples. "Like, if Mom gives you a piece of candy and Andrew tells you to give it to him, you don't have to give it to him if you don't want. It's yours, understand."

Isobel nods.

"Or if someone tells you to do a hundred jumping jacks, you don't have to do it.

"Or if someone tells me to raise both of my hands, I don't have to do it?" Isobel asks, showing Casey she understands exactly what's being explained to her.

Casey frowns. "Yeah. Like that." She answers. But who the hell would tell her to raise both of her hands? Other than a teacher or a doctor. It then dawns on Casey that now she's going to have to explain to Isobel instances in which she _will _have to do what someone else says whether she wants to or not.

_God, the kid can be exhausting._

But she's not as exhausting as Casey thought she would be. Isobel grasps on to Casey's teachings rather quickly.

Though just to be sure, Casey goes over a few scenarios with her.

"Mom tells me and you to walk to the store, halfway there, I tell you to run back home 'cause I think you're annoying. Do you do it?"

"Not if I don't want to." Comes Isobel's quick reply.

"Okay, Mom tells me and you to walk to the store, halfway there, I tell you to run home because dad called me and he wants you to go home. Do you do it?

"Yes."

"Good. Another thing." Casey moves on. "What Mom and Dad say goes. No ifs ands or buts about it. Do whatever they say, unless they're completely wrong, of course."

"How will I know if they're wrong?" Isobel asks.

"If you know without a shadow of a doubt that you're right." Casey answers.

Then Casey goes through a few more examples and scenarios, trying to give Isobel a clear idea of the kinds of things she has a choice in the matter of, and the kinds of things she's not allowed to refuse.

Once Casey's satisfied, she walks Isobel back up to her, well, her _old _bedroom. Noley's sitting down on the bottom bunk in front of Lizzy. Lizzy's brushing Noley's still-wet hair for her. It reminds Casey that Isobel still needs a bath, though she hasn't gotten too dirty since this morning's shower.

She takes a few moments to show Isobel where all the stuff she needs for a bath are kept; her pajamas, washcloths, towels, shampoo, whatever. Then she shows her how to set the water. "If you can do it yourself," she says to the child. "Do it yourself. You don't want to be an annoying burden." She finishes, giving Isobel a small lesson on independency.

Isobel nods her head in understanding.

"It's late, so after your bath, Mom will probably tell you to go to bed. Do you know which bed is yours?"

Isobel shakes her head.

"The one that's by itself." Casey answers; then she leaves Isobel alone.

Isobel doesn't mind being alone. In fact, she prefers it, so she takes her time in the bath. She doesn't come out until there's an insistent knock on the door.

"Hey kid, you almost done in there? I gotta take a leak."

Isobel gets out of the tub and opens the door for Sammy.

"Aagh!" He yells in alarm. "Cover up!" He scolds, brushing past her and draping the first thing he sets eyes on over her head. Then, without looking at her, he pushes her out of the bathroom.

Isobel takes the large towel off of her head and starts walking in the direction of her new room. Before she gets there, she's stopped by Jonathan. More specifically, by his frown.

"Give me the towel, Isobel." He demands, holding his hand out.

Isobel does it.

"Hold your arms up."

"Why?" she asks. It takes Jonathan by surprise for a brief second. He's gotten used to her unquestioning obedience. But Casey just taught Isobel that if a person tells her to do something she doesn't really feel like doing, she can ask them why. If the reason he or she gives is a "good one" then she should go ahead and do it. And with that lesson so fresh in her mind, she patiently waits for Jonathan's answer.

"So that I can wrap this towel around you," is Jonathan's answer.

"Why can't I be without the towel?"

"You can. When you're in the tub." He answers. When Isobel doesn't seem very inclined to raise her arms over her head, he continues. "Let me ask you something, Isobel. Where do you go to…relieve yourself?"

"In the bathroom." She answers promptly. He tries to hide just how relieved he is that she knew what he meant by that. He wanted to avoid asking her where she went "pee pee."

"Can you _physically _do it someplace other than a bathroom?"

Isobel nearly says no because she wouldn't "relieve herself" any place other than on a toilet, but he asked her if she_ physically _could. Therefor the answer is… "Yes."

"Is it appropriate?"

"No."

"And that's because there is a time and place for everything, Isobel." Jonathan answers. "relieving yourself is natural, everybody has to do it. but you just can't do it _wherever _you want. That's the same thing for this. It's inappropriate for a girl your age to walk around naked."

Isobel can't fault Jonathan's logic, so she lifts her arms up and lets him wrap the towel around her securely.

Afterward, she's sent into her new bedroom.

Lizzy's still brushing Noley's hair, but when Isobel comes in, she announces she's done.

As Noley's climbing up onto the top bunk, Lizzy addresses Isobel. "Would you like me to brush your hair?"

"_If you can do it yourself, do it yourself. You don't want to be an annoying burden." _

Casey's words come to Isobel immediately. She walks up to Lizzy and takes hold of the brush. "I can do it myself, Moira." She answers solemnly.

Lizzy blinks. She's never gonna get used to being called Moira all the time. She feels Isobel give a small tug of the brush.

"It's still nice to have someone else do stuff for you sometimes. Even if you can do them yourself." She says before letting the brush go.

Isobel seems to be considering her answer, but then she walks over to Casey's old bed and sits down before brushing her hair.

Lizzy sighs. Isobel's way to sullen for her own good. Someone's gotta lighten that kid up.

{(O)(O)(O)}

"I'm game." Casey announces, and everyone in the house spit takes, gasps, or starts staring at her like she's grown a second head.

She's not surprised. Even though it's Sunday, she got up at a decent hour and ate breakfast with her family. Everyone knows she's not much of a morning person, and will often skip breakfast entirely, but with it being Isobel's first breakfast here at the farm, no one's really that surprised to see that she's checking up on the kid.

But when breakfast was over and Noley announced that she wanted to play tag, Casey was _not _expected to be the first one to offer to play with her younger sister. In fact, Noley had her back to Casey and was mainly asking Lizzy. If Lizzy was in the mood, she could convince Jonathan. If Jonathan was playing, Andrew might play. If Andrew played, and Sammy was here, Sammy'd play too, but then they couldn't use superspeed.

Casey never plays regardless of who, or who isn't, playing.

Until now.

"Alright, let's do this!" Andrew exclaims, being the first to get over his shock. Sammy soon follows. Then Lizzy and Jonathan.

Casey begins explaining how to play to Isobel, while Lizzy runs out and gets some straw to fairly determine who will be "it."

Sammy ends up with the short straw, and everyone runs out of the house while he counts to ten.

Noley lingers behind. She suddenly doesn't really _want _to play tag anymore. But her mother gives her a bright smile and shoos her out of the house.

Half an hour of intense running makes Sammy tired so he takes a break. This isn't unexpected behavior. Sammy is human after all, but with Sammy taking a break, the rules of the game change. Superspeed is allowed now. And the game gets a little more interesting.

Noley's it now. She's chasing Lizzy, but off to her right, she sees Isobel. And she's alone. She could catch her easy.

But it's not as easy as she thinks. Isobel's really fast. Noley pushes herself harder than she's ever pushed herself before. She's absolutely determined to catch the new girl.

And catch her she does. Only she doesn't simply tag her. It's more of a push, and Isobel falls to the ground.

Isobel doesn't cry. A small gasp is the only sound she makes. Yet it's enough to have everyone crowd around her as she sits up and hugs her right knee to her chest. She's got her eyes screwed shut and she's holding her breath. More like she's holding her cry in.

"Why'd you do that!" Casey yells at Noley, crouching down to take a look at Isobel's scraped up knee.

"I didn't mean to!" Noley snaps back.

"Yeah, but you didn't exactly say you're sorry yet." Andrew cuts in. He's not yelling at her the way Casey is, but he's not defending her either.

Noley is a bit taken aback by his response. She expected him to be on her side. It_ was_ an accident after all.

Isobel lets out the breath she was holding, but then she takes another one. It's because she's holding in the hurt. She's not crying, sobbing, or making any noise. As a result, her face is a very bright pink right now.

"You should apologize." Jonathan lectures.

Noley knows that. She was going to, she was just a little shocked so she didn't do it immediately, but now the way Jonathan's looking at her…It's not anger. It's more like he doesn't recognize her. Like she's the new girl and Isobel's the sister.

Noley's throat closes up. If she says anything right now, her voice will shake and she'll probably cry. She doesn't want to cry in front of the new girl.

"You really hurt her, Noley. You should apologize. Unless you're not sorry. Unless you _purposely_ pushed her down." Lizzy adds. The way she looks at her is even worse than the way Jonathan did. She looks _disappointed_ in her.

Noley's bottom lip trembles. And still she doesn't say anything.

Lizzy waits two more seconds before shaking her head and reaching for Isobel. "Come on, little one."

Isobel doesn't reach for Lizzy back. Probably because she can't see her. Her eyes are still squeezed shut, and she's still holding on her knee.

When Lizzy lifts her up into her arm, she accidently touches Isobel's bloody knee.

Isobel gasps again.

"Sorry, little one." Lizzy croons. "Let's get you to Mama so she can patch you up, okay?"

Once Lizzy and Isobel are gone, everyone turns back and looks at Noley. But Casey is the first to speak to her.

"What the hell's wrong with you!" she yells.

And the dam breaks. Hot tears spill out of Noley's eyes and she runs away.

Her whole family, all of her brothers and sisters, turned on her. She's always known she's not Casey's favorite, but never has every single one of her siblings been against her like _this_.

{(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)}

**A/N:** Sorry if this one was a little boring, but I was mostly laying down some ground work. Next chapter should be more exciting;)


End file.
